Is super-intensive shrimp farming more environmentally friendly? an application of material balance principle in the Mekong Delta

Nguyen Thuy Trang, Vo Hong Tu (), Le Thanh Son and Nguyen Phu Son
Additional contact information
Nguyen Thuy Trang: Can Tho University
Vo Hong Tu: Can Tho University
Le Thanh Son: Can Tho University
Nguyen Phu Son: Can Tho University

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2023, vol. 25, issue 3, No 26, 2670-2687

Abstract: Abstract Super-intensive shrimp farming area has been increasing rapidly in the Mekong Delta due to its high expected profit. However, such production practice raises an emerging concern of environmental aspects. Thus, the current study aims at measuring and comparing the environmental or nutrient efficiency among 230 semi-intensive, intensive and super-intensive white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farmers. To measure the environmental efficiency, the study applied material balance principle and data envelopment analysis. On average, the environmental efficiency of white shrimp farmers was 19.52%, suggesting that the shrimp farmers produce a nutrient surplus of 1216 kg/ha to the aquatic environment. The intensive farming produces the highest amount of nutrient surplus. The study also found that the environmental efficiency of super-intensive shrimp farming is 40%, which is significantly higher than that of the semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farming practices at 23.27% and 17.08%, respectively. The study also offers some policy implications for improving the technical, allocative and environmental efficiencies of white shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta.

Keywords: Data envelopment analysis; Environmentally friendly; Material balance principle; Nutrient surplus; Super-intensive shrimp farming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q01 Q12 Q15 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-022-02156-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:endesu:v:25:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10668-022-02156-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10668

DOI: 10.1007/s10668-022-02156-2

Access Statistics for this article

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development is currently edited by Luc Hens

More articles in Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().