Ben Belton

Michigan State University | MSU · Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics

Wholesalers of agricultural crops have historically received limited attention in the literature on agricultural development, which has a strongly productivist focus. When wholesalers are considered, they are often framed as exploitative, taking advantage of information asymmetries, market failures, and unequal power relations to extract heavy surp...

Prior research on mechanization outsource services has not explored seasonal variations in drivers and outcomes of adoption by smallholders. These omissions are important because seasonality of crop cultivation may influence intensity of demand for machines, while seasonality of demand for non-farm labor may influence the availability and cost of a...

Myanmar has endured multiple crises in recent years — including COVID-19, global price instability, the 2021 coup, and widespread conflict — that have disrupted and even reversed a decade of economic development. Household welfare has declined severely, with more than 3 million people displaced and many more affected by high food price inflation an...

Introduction Aquatic foods, particularly fish, are essential for addressing malnutrition, especially in vulnerable populations like children and women. In India, traditional aquaculture practices centered around carp species often overlooked the production of nutrient-rich small fish. To address this, nutrition-sensitive aquaculture approaches advo...

There is an international consensus that Africans consume less fruits and vegetables (FV), and animal products (AP) than they need for adequate nutrition, and that production and supply chains of these products are constrained. Yet, in this paper, we show that despite these problems, there is a lot of dynamism in demand and supply of these nutrient...

Introduction Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, third largest fish producer, and second largest aquaculture producer. There have been numerous studies of aquaculture and fisheries in Nigeria, but no study to date has analyzed aquaculture and capture fisheries value chains together, while giving equal weight to all value chain segments and s...

This study investigates the dynamics of fish consumption in India from 2005 to 2021, using comprehensive, nationally representative surveys conducted by the Government of India. It reveals significant growth in fish consumption in India, driven by population growth, increased wealth and shifting consumption patterns. The findings suggest potential...

This book chapter explores the potential of indigenous small fish (ISF) species as a solution to address undernutrition and promote nutrition-sensitive aquaculture. ISF, characterized by their small size and remarkable reproductive capacity, offer a rich source of protein, micronutrients, and essential fatty acids. Despite their nutritional advanta...

Value chain research increasingly seeks to assess the inclusiveness of value chains to better understand how to promote equitable and pro-poor development. This trend is especially relevant for small-scale fisheries value chains, which provide livelihoods, food security, and a social safety net for rural poor in many countries. Despite recent effor...

Deepor Beel, located in the state of Assam in India, is a Wetland of International Importance with a Wildlife Sanctuary and is the only RAMSAR site in the state. Though of invaluable ecological significance, the wetland is facing anthropogenic stressors, leading to rapid degradation of ecological health. In December 2022, surface water was collecte...

Introduction Small indigenous fish species (SIS) can be particularly rich in micronutrients and make a crucial contribution toward improving human nutrition. The introduction of mola ( Amblypharyngodon mola ), an SIS, which is particularly rich in vitamin A, into smallholder carp aquaculture systems has been widely promoted over the past decade as...

Integrated aquaculture–agriculture (IAA) is a form of crop diversification where aquatic and terrestrial foods are grown together on a single parcel of land. We compare economic and nutrient productivity per hectare for 12 distinct IAA combinations, identified from a representative survey of 721 farms in southern Bangladesh. Just under half of hous...

This study traces the consumption of animal-source foods (ASF) during a period of rapid economic change and food system transformation in Myanmar. We use data from two nationally representative consumption surveys conducted in 2010 and 2015 and food composition tables to estimate the contributions of ASF to estimated average requirements (EARs) of...

Introduction: Seed production has experienced significant growth in Bangladesh over the last decade, driven by the increasing number of hatcheries. The hatchery segment plays a crucial role in the overall growth and development of aquaculture in the country. Understanding its structure, conduct and performance is essential for assessing its impact...

The rapid growth of aquaculture in Bangladesh over the past three decades has been facilitated by increasing supplementary feed use and increasing numbers of feed suppliers, but little is known about the organization and behavior of the feed supply segment of aquaculture value chain. We conducted a comprehensive survey with 79 feed suppliers of two...

Myanmar experienced multiple COVID shocks as well as a military takeover in February 2021. Impacts on household poverty remain uncertain, however, because large‐scale in‐person surveys were impossible during the pandemic and heightened internal conflict. We use ex ante simulation models and phone survey evidence to estimate the poverty effects of t...

Assessments of fish consumption are based primarily on data from household surveys that do not capture information on the intra-household distribution of the size or species of fish consumed. Such studies can yield partial or misleading information about the adequacy of aquatic food consumption. We address this gap by focusing on individual-level f...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions put in place to contain it. This study assesses the impact of these restrictions on the midstream of the potato and fish value chains, with a focus on traders and processors, and investigates the short- and longer-term responses and ‘pivoti...

This study contributes to the growing literature on dietary quality and accessibility in the Global South. We analyze the nutrition implications of changing dietary patterns between 2008 and 2019 in one of Africa's largest and fastest growing economies, Tanzania, and compare patterns at national and sub-national scales. We find that: (1) Rising inc...

Aquatic foods are critical for food and nutrition security in Malawi, but it is unclear which populations benefit from different aquatic foods and what factors shape food access. Spatial analysis of food flows across value chains from Lake Malawi to domestic consumers shows that usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) reaches more consumers than chambo (Or...

Asia accounts for over 70% of total global aquatic food consumption, but aquatic food consumption behaviours and attitudes among Asian consumers are poorly documented and understood. This paper synthesises literature on factors influencing aquatic food consumption behaviour in Asia and the potential to support transitions toward more sustainable fo...

Aquatic foods are critical for food and nutrition security in Malawi, but it is unclear which populations benefit from different aquatic foods and what factors shape food access. Spatial analysis of food flows across value chains from Lake Malawi to domestic consumers shows that usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) reaches more consumers than chambo (Or...

Hybrid maize farming has boomed across upland Southeast Asia in the past three decades. Recent studies suggest that the boom has resulted in diverse outcomes across countries. In Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, the introduction of hybrid maize has often initially been linked to rising incomes and living standards, with little loss or concentration of...

In this study, we evaluated the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multispectral data to detect aquaculture waterbodies in Southern Bangladesh to quantify fish production on a national scale. For this purpose, we developed an object-based framework comprised of three sequential stages: 1) water detection, 2) feature segmentation, and 3) feat...

Across Southeast Asia, coastal livelihoods are becoming more diverse and more commodified, as maritime zone developments intensify. We review literature from the ten maritime states in Southeast Asia to assess how older and emerging forms of maritime zone developments influence the viability of small-scale fishing livelihoods. Applying a political...

Dried fish—here defined broadly as aquatic animals preserved using simple techniques, such as sun‐drying, salting, fermentation, and smoking that permit storage as foods at ambient temperature for extended periods without specialized packaging—have received little direct attention in fisheries research. This lack of visibility belies their historic...

African governments imposed mobility restrictions to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Many observers feared these measures would dramatically decrease incomes and increase food insecurity and anticipated that urban households would be much more impacted than rural ones. We use rural and urban survey data from 4000 households across five African cou...

This policy research note summarizes key findings from a study on the impact of COVID-19 and associated policies on SMEs along the poultry and fish value chain in Rivers State. We use monthly data collected from 66 agri-food enterprises over 9 months (February 2020 to October 2020) to understand how COVID-19 and associated policies impacted busines...

We examined microplastics (MP) in two commercially important dried fish, Bombay duck (Harpadon nehereus) and ribbon fish (Trichiurus lepturus), collected from two sites on the Bay of Bengal (Cox's Bazar and Kuakata). The number of MP found in dried Bombay duck and ribbon fish from Kuakata was significantly higher (41.33 g − 1 and 46.00 g − 1 , resp...

This report uses a panel dataset from two phone surveys covering February–October 2020 and March–July 2021, with nearly 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the fish and poultry value chains of eight states in all six of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones. We address three empirical gaps in the knowledge of the impacts of COVID-19 and containment p...

The contribution of seafood to global food security is being increasingly highlighted in policy. However, the extent to which such claims are supported in the current food security literature is unclear. This review assesses the extent to which seafood is represented in the recent food security literature, both individually and from a food systems...

This policy research note summarizes key findings from a study on the impact of COVID-19 and associated policies on SMEs along the poultry and fish value chains in Borno State. We use monthly data collected from 64 agri-food enterprises over 9 months (February 2020 to October 2020) to understand how COVID-19 and associated policies impacted busines...

Aquaculture in Bangladesh has grown dramatically in an unplanned manner in the past few decades, becoming a major contributor to the rural economy in many parts of the country. National systems for the collection of statistics have been unable to keep pace with these rapid changes, and more accurate, up to date information is needed to inform polic...

Inland capture fisheries are central to livelihoods and food security in Cambodia, but are under threat from growing anthropogenic pressures. Policy discourse in Cambodia increasingly frames aquaculture as a viable alternative to capture fisheries, and seeks to promote its development. This paper presents results from the first comprehensive survey...

This article explores the reconfigurations of fish consumption practices in Myanmar in a context of rapid urbanization and changing availability of wild and farmed fish. Using a social practice lens, we analyze how everyday fish consumption practices change as people move from the rural Ayeyarwady Delta to Yangon city. We show how these reconfigura...

p>The original version of this Article contained errors in the author affiliations. The affiliation of Malin Jonell and Beatrice Crona with Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden was inadvertently omitted. The affiliation of Malin Jonell with Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, The Royal Swedish Academy of Scienc...

Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture (SSFA) provide livelihoods for over 100 million people and sustenance for ~1 billion people, particularly in the Global South. Aquatic foods are distributed through diverse supply chains, with the potential to be highly adaptable to stresses and shocks, but face a growing range of threats and adaptive challenge...

Numerous studies have focused on the need to expand production of ‘blue foods’, defined as aquatic foods captured or cultivated in marine and freshwater systems, to meet rising population- and income-driven demand. Here we analyze the roles of economic, demographic, and geographic factors and preferences in shaping blue food demand, using secondary...

Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture (SSFA) provide livelihoods for over 100 million people and sustenance for ~1 billion people, particularly in the Global South. Aquatic foods are distributed through diverse supply chains, with the potential to be highly adaptable to stresses and shocks, but face a growing range of threats and adaptive challenge...

Aquatic foods are increasingly being recognized as having an important role to play in an environmentally sustainable and nutritionally sufficient food system. Proposals for increasing aquatic food production often center around species, environments, and ambitious hi-tech solutions that mainly will benefit the 16% of the global population living i...

The COVID-19 pandemic is a shock affecting all areas of the global food system. We tracked the impacts of COVID-19 and associated policy responses on the availability and price of aquatic foods and production inputs during 2020, using a high frequency longitudinal survey of 768 respondents in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Myanmar, Nigeria. We found the...

CONTEXT Chicken and eggs make important contributions to the food and nutrition security of low-income households in Myanmar, making it important to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on Myanmar's poultry sector. OBJECTIVE First, we evaluate the responsiveness and resilience of different chicken and egg farming systems in Myanmar to the shock of C...

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in the role of mechanization in agricultural development. This literature has given rise to debates over the design of institutions and policies to facilitate accelerated mechanization, the role of outsourcing services in overcoming problems of access to machinery, and questions regarding the future...

E‐commerce is rapidly diffusing in developing regions of the world. Its share is still small even in modern retail, except in the frontrunner China, but it is developing quickly in Asia and Latin America and emerging in Africa. Patterns of diffusion over regions mirror the supermarket revolution but are lagged by several decades. E‐commerce firms e...

Fish is among the most important animal‐sourced foods in Africa and is crucial in combatting malnutrition. Fish demand in Africa has far outpaced supply as the import share rose from 16% in 1970 to 39% by 2017. Little is known about who is consuming the imports: rural versus urban, rich versus poor. This is the first fish consumption analysis in Af...

This paper reviews development research and policies on freshwater fish in South and Southeast Asia. We conduct a systematic review of academic literature from three major science-based policy institutions to analyze development research and policies that have accompanied the ongoing transition from freshwater capture fisheries to aquaculture in th...

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns are creating health and economic crises that threaten food and nutrition security. The seafood sector provides important sources of nutrition and employment, especially in low-income countries, and is highly globalized, allowing shocks to propagate. We studied COVID-19-related disruptions, impacts, and...

This paper analyses catch and effort in the data deficient commercial offshore fisheries of Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region, using a unique dataset of fish catch landing records. We analyse 26,517 logbook records for five gear types-fish and crab traps, squid and purse seines, and demersal trawls-collected by the Department of Fisheries (DOF) between...

Food supply chains are extremely important for food access and livelihoods across Africa, but their role is often overlooked and underappreciated. Under normal conditions, the gap between myth and reality can result in the design of policies and programs with limited or negative impacts on food security and welfare. The shock of COVID‐19 has height...

▪ Due to the second wave of COVID-19 in Myanmar, which started in September 2020, demand for broilers and eggs has decreased again; around 60 percent of broiler farms and 40 percent of layer farms reported decreases in demand. ▪ Broiler prices decreased to a historical low of 1,650 MMK/Viss in mid-September. Egg prices also decreased by 12 percent...

The current preliminary report provide result of assessment study for measuring the impact of CVID-19 on aquaculture sector value chain in Egypt. The current report finding is for the result obtained from February to July 2010.

Recent literature on marine fish farming brands it as potentially compatible with sustainable resource use, conservation, and human nutrition goals, and aligns with the emerging policy discourse of ‘blue growth’. We advance a two-pronged critique. First, contemporary narratives tend to overstate marine finfish aquaculture’s potential to deliver foo...

This report presents results from by far the most comprehensive survey of maize cultivators ever conducted in Myanmar. This research was designed to test characterizations of hybrid maize farming from the literature on Myanmar empirically, and identify implications for development policy and programming. Our survey represented the population of all...

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food systems globally, resulting in significant impacts on economic and food security. In Bangladesh, aquatic food value chains make up a large part of the country’s food system. WorldFish is conducting longitudinal phone surveys to analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on aquatic food value chains, but these do not ca...