Determinants of compound feed adoption in Chinese aquaculture: Evidence from shrimp farmers

The remarkable expansion of aquaculture in China has exerted pressure on wild fishery resources. To mitigate this challenge, the focus has been on adopting nutritionally complete compound feed from a natural science perspective. Still, research regarding the behavioral economics of farmer decision-making remains scant. This study examines the determinants of compound feed adoption in Chinese shrimp aquaculture through a multinomial logit analysis of survey data from 134 farmers across five provinces. Three key findings emerge: first, demographic factors significantly influence adoption, with operator age reducing adoption likelihood by 21 % (OR=0.79) while each additional family laborer increases probability. Second, production characteristics play a crucial role, as Penaeus vannamei farms show higher adoption rates than other species; each hectare increase in farm size raises mixed feed adoption odds by 1.62 times, and stocking density had significant positive associations. Third, we identify a perception-adoption paradox where uniformly positive farmer attitudes (mean score=3.32/5) fail to translate into actual adoption due to unaddressed structural barriers. These results suggest that China's transition to sustainable aquaculture requires tailored interventions addressing: (1) age-related adoption barriers through peer-learning programs, (2) species-specific feed development, (3) farm-scale appropriate support packages, and (4) precision-based incentives. The study highlights the need to move beyond awareness campaigns to tackle implementation challenges in diverse production contexts, providing empirical evidence to optimize the national initiative to replace raw fish with compound feed while noting the limitations of its generalizability across China's 63 farmed aquatic species with varying feed dependencies. • Compound feed adoption in six Chinese cities was analyzed through a Multinomial Logit model • Traditional feeding persists; 32.1 % of farms mix feed, 9.7 % use only raw fish • Younger operators and more family laborers significantly increased adoption rates • P. vannamei cultivation and higher stocking density increase compound feed use • Farmer perception of compound feed had no significant effect on its adoption