Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana
Best management practices (BMPs) are the most cost-effective means of mitigating negative impacts of pond aquaculture on the environment. The impacts of BMPs and other innovations on fish farm profits have been studied widely. This study estimates impacts of BMP adoption on social welfare. We employ...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2015.1048579 |
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doaj-f71de9307ca74916a7887a40d1dc26ef2020-11-25T03:57:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Food & Agriculture2331-19322015-12-011110.1080/23311932.2015.10485791048579Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in GhanaYaw B. Ansah0Emmanuel A. Frimpong1Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBest management practices (BMPs) are the most cost-effective means of mitigating negative impacts of pond aquaculture on the environment. The impacts of BMPs and other innovations on fish farm profits have been studied widely. This study estimates impacts of BMP adoption on social welfare. We employed the economic surplus model to determine net present value (NPV) of adopting the more expensive but less polluting commercial floating fish feed in the pond culture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Ghana. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine which variables had the greatest influence on mean NPV. Our results indicate an NPV of US$ 11 million from the adoption of commercial floating feed in pond farming alone in Ghana. The variables with the biggest impacts on NPV were level of change in tilapia yield, and level of change in production costs, with the adoption of the new feed type. We conclude that adoption of yield-enhancing BMPs and innovations in Ghana will result in significant social welfare benefits. We recommend that credit programs and other financial packages be set up by governments or nongovernmental organizations to help farmers meet the increased cost of fish feed and to accelerate diffusion of commercial fish feed in pond farming.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2015.1048579economic surplusMonte Carlo simulationnet present valueaquaculturesocial discount ratebest management practicesub-Saharan Africaaquafeed |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yaw B. Ansah Emmanuel A. Frimpong |
spellingShingle |
Yaw B. Ansah Emmanuel A. Frimpong Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana Cogent Food & Agriculture economic surplus Monte Carlo simulation net present value aquaculture social discount rate best management practice sub-Saharan Africa aquafeed |
author_facet |
Yaw B. Ansah Emmanuel A. Frimpong |
author_sort |
Yaw B. Ansah |
title |
Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana |
title_short |
Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana |
title_full |
Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana |
title_fullStr |
Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of the adoption of BMPs on social welfare: A case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in Ghana |
title_sort |
impact of the adoption of bmps on social welfare: a case study of commercial floating feeds for pond culture of tilapia in ghana |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
series |
Cogent Food & Agriculture |
issn |
2331-1932 |
publishDate |
2015-12-01 |
description |
Best management practices (BMPs) are the most cost-effective means of mitigating negative impacts of pond aquaculture on the environment. The impacts of BMPs and other innovations on fish farm profits have been studied widely. This study estimates impacts of BMP adoption on social welfare. We employed the economic surplus model to determine net present value (NPV) of adopting the more expensive but less polluting commercial floating fish feed in the pond culture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Ghana. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine which variables had the greatest influence on mean NPV. Our results indicate an NPV of US$ 11 million from the adoption of commercial floating feed in pond farming alone in Ghana. The variables with the biggest impacts on NPV were level of change in tilapia yield, and level of change in production costs, with the adoption of the new feed type. We conclude that adoption of yield-enhancing BMPs and innovations in Ghana will result in significant social welfare benefits. We recommend that credit programs and other financial packages be set up by governments or nongovernmental organizations to help farmers meet the increased cost of fish feed and to accelerate diffusion of commercial fish feed in pond farming. |
topic |
economic surplus Monte Carlo simulation net present value aquaculture social discount rate best management practice sub-Saharan Africa aquafeed |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2015.1048579 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT yawbansah impactoftheadoptionofbmpsonsocialwelfareacasestudyofcommercialfloatingfeedsforpondcultureoftilapiainghana AT emmanuelafrimpong impactoftheadoptionofbmpsonsocialwelfareacasestudyofcommercialfloatingfeedsforpondcultureoftilapiainghana |
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