Climate-smart aquaculture practice: Changes in economic viability and efficiency of mud crab fattening in coastal Bangladesh

Crab fattening has been flourishing along the coastal regions of South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, offering significant livelihood opportunities for local dwellers, yet its economic viability remains underexplored. This study evaluates the economic viability (profitability and risk), determinants of crab production, technical efficiency, and factors contributing to inefficiency among crab fatteners in coastal Bangladesh, utilizing panel data from 2018 and 2023, for the first time. Fixed-effects regression was employed to identify the drivers of crab production, while a true random-effects Cobb-Douglas panel stochastic frontier model was used to estimate technical efficiency. The profitability of crab fattening declined from USD 3,978 per hectare in 2018 to USD 3,351 per hectare in 2023. Despite this decline, both crab production and prices increased over time, mitigating the risk of losses and ultimately enhancing economic viability. Factors positively influencing production included age, education, income, access to credit, proximity to output markets, crab price, crablet stocking, feed, and water exchange, whereas disease prevalence had a negative impact. The mean technical efficiency of crab fatteners improved from 0.69 in 2018 to 0.74 in 2023. Education, income, crab price, and market proximity positively influenced technical efficiency, while distance to extension offices and disease prevalence negatively impacted it. Enhanced extension support, improved access to credit, fair market pricing, and the development of hatcheries for quality crablet could bolster the success of this climate-smart aquaculture practice, aiding Bangladesh in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2.3 of doubling the agricultural productivity and income of small-scale farmers.