ABSTRACT
The review aims to examine and synthesise the state of the evidence around what works to improve productivity, income, nutrition and women's empowerment outcomes of households involved in aquaculture in low- and middle-income countries. We are particularly interested in addressing the following research questions: (1) Do aquaculture interventions increase the productivity, income, nutrition and empowerment of individuals engaged in aquaculture and their households in low- and middle-income countries? (2) Do aquaculture interventions generate income and nutrition spillover effects beyond the farmers' households? (3) To what extent do the effects of aquaculture interventions vary by intervention type, population group, and location? In particular, to what extent do effects vary by gender? (4) What are the potential barriers and facilitating factors that impact the effectiveness of aquaculture interventions? (5) What is the cost-effectiveness of different aquaculture interventions focused on productivity, income, nutrition and empowerment outcomes?
ABSTRACT
Background: A steady increase in the international production and consumption of fish has positioned aquaculture as a development option. Previous literature has highlighted the potential of aquaculture to improve economic, nutritional and gender equality outcomes, however, the evidence on the effectiveness of these programmes remains unclear. Objectives: The review assessed whether aquaculture interventions increase the productivity, income, nutrition, and women's empowerment of individuals. We additionally aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that could affect the effectiveness of these interventions, and the cost-effectiveness of such programmes. Methods: We searched for experimental and quasi-experimental studies focused on low- and middle-income countries. We used standard methodological procedures expected by The Campbell Collaboration for the data collection and analysis. Results: We identified 21 impact evaluations assessing the effect of 13 aquaculture interventions in low- and lower-middle income countries. Twelve of these studies have a high risk of bias. Aquaculture interventions lead to a small increase in the production value, income, total expenditures and food consumption of participants. The limited availability of evidence prevented us from assessing other nutritional and women's empowerment outcomes. We identified barriers and facilitators affecting the programmes' set up, the participation of beneficiaries, and the level of productive activities. Insufficient cost data hindered full comparisons across programmes. Conclusions: The review suggests a lack of rigorous evidence assessing the effectiveness of aquaculture programmes. Future research could focus on evaluating nutrition and women's empowerment impacts, promoting reporting standards, and the use of cost data to continue building quality evidence around aquaculture interventions.
