The contribution of small-scale, privately owned tropical aquaculture to food security and dietary diversity in Bolivia
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The contribution of small-scale, privately owned tropical aquaculture to food security and dietary diversity in Bolivia Sean Irwin 1,2
&
Mark S. Flaherty 1 & Joachim Carolsfeld 3
Received: 4 November 2019 / Accepted: 4 September 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract New aquaculture systems are emerging in new contexts around the world in part due to aquaculture’s perceived development benefits. However, linkages between aquaculture and food security in these systems are unclear. This study investigated the impact of emerging small-scale, business-oriented fish culture in central Bolivia on the food security and dietary diversity of aquaculture producers (n = 40) and workers (n = 26) in the value chain and compared them to local non-aquaculture farmers (n = 40). Three pathways were investigated: fish consumption, household income, and women’s participation. Food insecurity was widespread and did not vary in a statistically significant way between groups, but a trend toward greater food security amongst aquaculture producers was observed. Dietary diversity was highly homogenous, with the notable exception of high fish consumption amongst producers. Aquaculture was related to higher income, and income has a modest positive effect on food security for aquaculturists and non-aquaculture farmers, but not aquaculture value chain workers. Income did not have an effect on dietary diversity. Women’s involvement in aquaculture was correlated positively to productivity, profitability, and size of operation, while male-only aquaculture was negatively correlated to these. The value chain generated employment, especially for women, but average wages were higher for men. The research provides important insight into aquaculture-food security linkages by showing that the introduction of small-scale business-oriented aquaculture systems can provide nutritious products for regional consumption and can have positive effects on food security but is not sufficient to change local dietary preferences more broadly. Keywords Aquaculture . Food security . Dietary diversity . women’s participation . Value chain . Bolivia
1 Introduction Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food-production system, currently contributing over half of the total global fish and seafood supply (FAO 2020). This is driving aquaculture expansion into new regions, which is leading to the diversification of species, farming methods and environments used (FAO 2020; Metian et al. 2020). This growth and diversification has contributed to global aquaculture revenues of $263.6 billion and the provision of livelihoods to 20.5 million people,
* Sean Irwin [email protected] 1
Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
2
School of Business, Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC, Canada
3
World Fisheries Trust, Victoria, BC, Canada
19% of whom are women, and mostly with small-scale systems (FAO 2020). Aquaculture’s contribution to food security is both through income and through the provision of food that is conside
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