Does aquaculture really benefit poor people in the Philippines?

Aquaculture is expanding steadily around the world. Despite some negative environmental impacts, many experts believe that aquaculture has the potential to resolve hunger and malnutrition in many countries. How much does aquaculture really benefit poor people?

Research from the University of Reading in the UK, and Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement in France, examines aquaculture (fish farming) in five coastal communities in the Philippines. The researchers question whether aquaculture really reduces poverty and contributes to sustainable development in rural coastal areas.

A review of the literature shows that aquaculture potentially benefits poor people in several ways. For example, it can generate both year round and seasonal employment. Aquaculture requires inputs, such as feed and stocks of seed fish, which have to be produced and transported. Increased fish production also generates a greater demand for processing and storage, meaning further jobs. Fish farmers and labourers spend these increased incomes on other goods and services, potentially spreading benefits beyond those directly involved in the sector.

There is evidence of these benefits in the areas studied, where 59 percent of the population fall beneath the poverty line. Aquaculture is an important activity, representing nearly one third of total income. Most households also earn money from other activities, including retailing and construction.

The researchers also considered whether aquaculture increases the income of wealthier households more than it helps poorer households move out of poverty. They found:

• Aquaculture provides a larger share of income for poorer people; poor households earn 54 percent of their income from aquaculture, compared to only 25 percent for the remaining households.
• Of the people interviewed, 71 percent felt that aquaculture was beneficial to both poor and non-poor members of their community.
• Fish farms are mostly owned by a few individuals, who usually live elsewhere. The farms are still a vital source of employment, however, with more than half of households involved in at least one activity related to aquaculture.
• For some tasks, labourers are paid in fish. This is particularly important for poorer households, as fish are a crucial source of protein.
• There were clear barriers to poorer people benefiting more from aquaculture, including a lack of money and access to credit. However, some poorer people who began as labourers were able to develop their own aquaculture farms over time.

There is little evidence that aquaculture contributes to the marginalisation of poor people. Economic analysis showed that the overall effect of aquaculture was to decrease inequality in communities, especially compared to alternative sources of income. The researchers conclude:

• The key to benefiting poor people is how the income generated by aquaculture is distributed amongst households.
• Aquaculture in the Philippines currently creates a large demand for unskilled labour, crucial in a country where the primary cause of poverty is unemployment.
• If policymakers want to develop aquaculture in a way that has an impact on poverty, they should consider the effects of new policies and technologies on employment.

Source(s):
‘The equity and poverty impacts of aquaculture: insights from the Philippines’, Development Policy Review 25.4 pages 495 – 516, by Xavier Irz, James R. Stevenson, Arnold Tanoy, Portia Villarante, Pierre Morissens, 2007

Funded by: UK Department for International Development Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Research Programme, Project R8288 (http://www.dfid.stir.ac.uk/Afgrp/projects.htm)

id21 Research Highlight: 6 November 2007

Further Information:
Xavier Irz
Food Standards Agency, ARD
Aviation House, Room 211 C
125 Kingsway
London, WC2B 6NH
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 72768203
Contact the contributor: xavier.irz@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

University of Reading, UK

Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, France

Other related links:
id21 insights 65 'The importance of fisheries for development'

'Farming fish in cities – an undervalued activity?'

'Aquaculture: benefiting rural and urban people'

'Politics, science and shrimp farming – whose ‘objectivity’ counts?'

See id21's links for fisheries