Total Factor Productivity Growth of the Seaweed Industry of the Philippines, 2009-2020

Date

6-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jaymee A. Cabangbang

Committee Member

Julieta A. Delos Reyes, Agham C. Cuevas

Abstract

Despite the steady and promising growth observed in the seaweed industry in the past decades, the sustainability of its growth remains a concern. The industry can be deemed sustainable if the growth is attributed to technological change (based on the types of species adopted), technical efficiency change (based on production practices adopted), allocative efficiency change (based on input and output mix), or scale of efficiency change (based on the scale of operations). However, if the growth is due to the expansion of production area, with little contribution to productivity, then sustainability is indeed an issue. The proposed study is an attempt to determine the sources of TFP growth and suggest policy recommendations that can accelerate productivity growth in the seaweed industry.

The study was conducted to determine if the source of growth in the Philippine seaweed industry comes from factors that have sustainable long-term effects or temporary effects. Specifically, it aimed to: describe the seaweed industry situation in the Philippines; analyze changes in the factors affecting productivity of seaweed production between the two time periods (1996 to 2007 and 2009 to 2020); estimate the total factor productivity growth in seaweed aquaculture in relation to output growth achieved over time; and suggest policy directions that can help accelerate productivity growth in the seaweed industry. Data on the input variables, socio-economic characteristics, market factors, and technical and farm-specific factors of 75 farmers from Bohol, 50 from Cebu, 71 from Palawan, 50 from Tawi-tawi, and 50 from Zamboanga Sibugay were used to conduct a test of two means for the factors affecting productivity in the two time periods: Period A (1996-2007) and Period B (2009-2020). Data from BFAR was used to estimate the TFP growth in the Philippine seaweed industry. Bohol was also used to represent the situation of the seaweed industry at the provincial level for Period A. While Palawan, Bohol, and Tawi-tawi were used to represent the situation of the seaweed industry at the provincial level for Period B. Data using the averages of the prices and output levels of the top 10 seaweed-producing provinces were used at the national level.

Results showed that there were significant changes in the factors affecting productivity between the periods 1996 to 2007 and 2009 to 2020. These changes can be seen specifically in the input variables (seedlings and labor), socio-economic characteristics (sex, age, household size, and years of experience), the technical and farm-specific factors (farming practices and methods adopted and cropping cycle). Changes in productivity between the two time periods can be attributed to these factors. Results of the Tornqvist decomposition of growth in real TR showed that real revenues increased by 56.99 percent in Period A while real revenues increased by 59.57 percent in Period B. The decomposition of growth in real TC revealed that production costs increased by 113.59 percent in Period A and production costs increased by 73.49 percent in Period B.

Language

English

LC Subject

Aquaculture industry—Philippines

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2023 A14 V35

Notes

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Document Type

Thesis

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