Title : Assessing the policy impact: A comprehensive analysis of Nepal’s growing fishery value chain
Abstract:
The fishery value chain in Nepal encompasses both aquaculture and inland sources, with aquaculture emerging as one of the country's fastest-growing and lucrative agri-business sectors. This article assesses the impact of existing policies on the fishery subsector's investment, production, and trade. Prior to this study, there was limited analysis of the interplay between these policies. To address this gap, we conducted an in-depth review of prior studies and exploratory surveys, which included 150 randomly selected pond fish farms, 110 consumers, case studies, and interviews with key informants. Our analysis covered various aspects of fishery policies, including fish seed sales, pond numbers, water area, fish production, and trade. Aquaculture contributed 80% of the total production, with impressive compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of 18% for net water area, 40% for fish production, and 19% for productivity. Time-series regression analysis revealed significant positive relationships (p=0.05) among food fish production, seed supply, public investment, and bank investments in the subsector's gross value addition. The fishery industry as a whole contributed 0.37% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and 1.82% to agricultural GDP, with CAGR rates of 10.90% and 10.49%, respectively. Carp fish farms demonstrated a benefit-cost ratio of 2:1 and an internal rate of return exceeding 30%. Spatial growth rate analysis showed substantial growth in terai districts for pond fish, productivity, and investment, while progress in hill and mountain districts remained relatively stagnant. Our examination of micro-actors revealed that the highest expenditure was reported in food fish production, followed by fish trade and fish input supply. However, there was significantly low investment in processing, branding, and export market strengthening so that approximately one-tenth of the country's demand was met through formal and informal fish product imports, although the import rate was declining. Despite being the most profitable bioindustry in Nepal, our ranking identified several hindrances using the Likert scale technique. The top seven challenges were inadequate capital, suboptimal farming practices, limited availability of high-yielding fish seed species, insufficient market extension, low per capita consumption, adverse effects of climate change, and topographical challenges. To address these weaknesses, future policy measures should focus on value-chain-based investments to ensure the availability of high-yielding fish seeds, improving pond fish productivity, strengthening wet markets, raising awareness among fishery consumers, and providing institutional support from provincial and federal governments.
Keywords: CAGR, capital, micro-actors, MOALD, pond fish
