How efficient are integrated aquaculture agriculture systems? Evidence from Malawi

The blue transformation roadmap promotes inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food systems, with integrated aquaculture agriculture (IAA) driving this shift by improving resource efficiency, recycling nutrients, diversifying incomes, and strengthening farm profitability and resilience. Despite the growing adoption of IAA systems in Africa, the impact of system inefficiencies on productivity remains poorly understood in some countries, including Malawi. Therefore, this study analyzed the technical efficiency of IAA farmers in Mchinji, using a translog stochastic frontier approach. Data from 105 IAA farmers, collected between August and September 2022, revealed that fish-crop integration was a predominant technique (73.7%) primarily utilizing vegetables and maize, an indication of prevalent low-input IAA systems. Increasing feed and fertilizer quantities, farm size, and the number of fish stocked could enhance efficiency, while labor had no significant effect. The average technical efficiency was 51%, indicating that it is possible for farmers to increase the level of output by about 49%. Furthermore, access to credit and extension services was identified to reduce inefficiencies. Therefore, strengthening institutional support is critical to improve productivity and sustainable fish farming practices.