COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TRADITIONAL VS. SCIENTIFIC
SHRIMP FARMING IN WEST BENGAL:
A TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY ANALYSISPoulomi Bhattacharya
Abstract
Applying a Stochastic Production Frontier to farm-level data from shrimp farmers in West Bengal, India, this paper examines technical efficiency and its determinants in both scientific and traditional shrimp farming systems. The empirical results suggest high degrees of technical inefficiency among the shrimp farmers at household level. The scientific shrimp farmers have a higher technical efficiency than their traditional counterparts. This necessitates government policy initiatives and extension programmes which will help the shrimp farmers especially the traditional ones of the state to utilize the best of their resources and enhance their production substantially. The government should also give adequate attention to small shrimp producers by providing them credit and other extension facilities.