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Economic evaluation of the commercial production between Brazilian samphire and whiteleg shrimp in an aquaponics system

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Abstract

The implementation of aquaponics systems has significantly increased in the last two decades, and several studies have reported on the technical, socioeconomic, and environmental ramifications in order to achieve sustainability in food production. The present study, however, aimed to perform a commercial-scale economic evaluation, using a model marine aquaponics production system with the halophyte Sarcocornia ambigua and the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei cultivated in nutrient film technology (NFT) and biofloc technology (BFT) systems, respectively. To calculate phytotechnical and zootechnical indexes, we used recent studies available in the literature. Indicators of operational costs (total cost of production—TCP) and financial viability were calculated based on a cash flow horizon of 10 years. The proposed study estimated an initial investment of US$ 474,253.07, with annual TCPs around US$ 192,220.50, US$ 247,740.52, and US$ 223,482.65 years 1, 2 to 9, and 10, the different periods studied. Within these respective periods, the annual production of halophyte was 17,017, 23,286, and 18,808 kg, while marine shrimp production was 10,659, 14,586, and 11,781 kg. Based on these annual production numbers, the TCPs were US$ 4.75, US$ 4.03, and US$ 4.67 kg−1 for halophyte and US$ 10.45, US$ 14.43, and US$ 11.52 kg−1 for shrimp. Three sales prices were estimated per kilogram of halophyte produced and one fixed price per kilogram of shrimp produced. Only the highest selling price showed favorable indexes after testing sensitivities. Based on the above parameters, halophyte TCP was below sales value, i.e., reference price, with the possibility of increasing the price to “premium” level, indicating that this marine aquaponics production system was feasible for implementation in Brazil.

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Notes

  1. Source: http://www.bcb.gov.br/htms/selic/selicdiarios.asp, as assessed on March 1, 2017.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Marine Aquaponics Studies Group of the Marine Shrimp Laboratory of the Federal University of Santa Catarina.

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Financing agency—CNPq-CAPES - Universal 2015

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aquaculture Department, Agricultural Science Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Leonardo Castilho-Barros, Fábio H. Almeida & Walter Q. Seiffert

  2. Advanced Center for Technological Research of the Marine Fishery Agribusiness/SAA/São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Marcelo B. Henriques

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  1. Leonardo Castilho-Barros
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  2. Fábio H. Almeida
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  3. Marcelo B. Henriques
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  4. Walter Q. Seiffert
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Correspondence to Leonardo Castilho-Barros.

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Castilho-Barros, L., Almeida, F.H., Henriques, M.B. et al. Economic evaluation of the commercial production between Brazilian samphire and whiteleg shrimp in an aquaponics system. Aquacult Int 26, 1187–1206 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-018-0277-8

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