A Comparative Economic Analysis of Two Seaweed Farming Methods in Tanzania

The national Seaweed Development Strategic Plan recently adopted by the Tanzanian government calls for expansion of seaweed farming which has proven to be an important income generator for coastal communities and an export earner for the country. The plan calls for the expansion of farming of Kappaphycus alvarezii, locally called cottonii. Although cottonii is the higher priced variety, it is more environmentally sensitive, leading to disease problems and die-offs. The Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems (SUCCESS) program has piloted a deep-water floating line method of cottonii farming in Mlingotini village of Bagamoyo District to test whether this method can reduce die offs but still be an economically viable option for farmers.

A comparative economic analysis of two different methods for farming cottonii –– the traditional peg and line off-bottom method and the deep-water floating line method –– is presented in this paper. It compares the productivity and economic returns of the two different methods for farming as well as compares the financial returns of buyer-dependent and independent seaweed farmers. The findings and recommendations are that:

The floating line method is economically superior to the traditionally used off-bottom method of farming cottonii and therefore should be promoted. There is a significant difference between the productivity of the off-bottom and floating line plots attributable to the floating line method’s advantage of reducing die-offs that occur using the off-bottom method. The floating line method also creates a seed bank that minimizes the amount of time a farmer spends trying to produce seed after a die-off, therefore; combining floating and off-bottom farms is advantageous. The floating line plots also act as fish-aggregating devices and by using dema traps, seaweed farmers can also harvest a substantial amount of fish.

Independent seaweed farming is economically superior to buyer-dependent farming. However, independent seaweed farming should be promoted with the caveat that independent farmers must raise their own capital to purchase inputs and assume greater risk. Independence is advantageous for both the off-bottom and floating farm method regardless of whether loans are needed or not for initial investments in farming. However, the greater profit potential of independent seaweed farming needs to be weighed against the greater economic risks to farmers that also accompany it.

It is recommended that independent farmers expand their current production of cottonii and that credit be provided for this purpose. Production can be expanded by expanding existing farms or increasing the number of farms. Household farming strategies will be based on time availability and economic comparability of seaweed versus other livelihood options. Expanded production can be catalyzed if farmers have access to loans for capital investment. However, traditional micro-credit lenders such as FINCA require loan payment schedules that are inconsistent with the production and sales cycle of seaweed farming. Alternative microcredit schemes such as savings and credit cooperatives should be considered that can provide loan repayment schemes more consistent with the production and sales cycle of seaweed farming.

Resource management, and in particular, marine zoning, must be integrated with seaweed farming. Stakeholder -based marine zoning of seaweed farming areas is needed to reduce spatial use conflicts with other uses such as tourism and fishing.