Economics of Shrimp Farming: A Comparative Study of Traditional vs. Scientific Shrimp Farming in West Bengal

The advent of scientific shrimp farming in India during 1990-91 not only boosted shrimp production but also attracted criticism on the grounds of generating adverse environmental and social impact challenging the sustainability of the system. Thus while examining the performance of alternative shrimp farming systems incorporating of the cost of negative externalities generated by shrimp farming, the risk associated and the possible fluctuations in the international shrimp market in the economic analysis are also extremely important. The present paper attempts to do so by analyzing the economic viability of alternative shrimp farming systems from a long-term perspective in the context of household level shrimp farming in West Bengal.