Factors Influencing Whiteleg Shrimp Farm Productivity: A Case Study In Soc Trang, Viet Nam

概要

[Objective]
　Coastal aquaculture is the strength of Vietnam with immense economic value, of which Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is a significant contributor to Vietnam's seafood production. Compared to other species, Whiteleg shrimp has many advantages: short farming time, high productivity, high nutritional value, fast growth, and large output. However, the significant development of Whiteleg shrimp farming is encountering many difficulties such as diseases, climate change, competition, etc., which make shrimp production challenges. There have been many studies that proposed to increase the productivity and efficiency of Whiteleg shrimp farming. Several previous studies focus more on technical efficiency but do not address input cost and other social factors. This research fills this gap by estimating the economic efficiency of shrimp farming models and analyzing factors affecting shrimp farming productivity.

[Method]
　Soc Trang is famous for its Whiteleg shrimp area and production in the Mekong Delta River region. The multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the correlation of the Whiteleg shrimp farming productivity and evaluate the economic efficiency of different Whiteleg farming models. The survey was conducted from February 2021 to March 2021. During which 102 households were interviewed on Whiteleg shrimp culture in three districts at Soc Trang province.

[Results]
　The results show that the factor cost of feed, breed, probiotic, and model had a significant positive effect on Whiteleg shrimp farming productivity. Meanwhile, the number of diseases and the cost of medicines and chemicals affected shrimp productivity negatively. In general, the education level of shrimp farmers was low and the farm size to raise Whiteleg shrimp was 1.18 hectares which was relatively small. The investment capital for the intensive model higher than the semi-intensive model. Meanwhile, the profit margin of intensive and semi-intensive models were 1.09 and 0.77, respectively.

[Conclusion]
　In conclusion, factors increasing the productivity of Whiteleg shrimp include costs such as feed, breed, probiotics and farming model. The intensive farming model is more economically effective than the semi-intensive model. However, farmers' management capacity and farming efficiency are not high because of low education and the farm size still small and fragment. In addition, shrimp farming also faces significant difficulties such as high feed costs, large investment capital, diseases and high seed prices.