Concern for product quality and safety among small-scale dried fish producers in coastal regions: implications for improved efficiency and product loss and waste reduction

Dried fish is an essential sector with high micronutrient content and livelihood support to the coastal communities, but with limited evidence of productivity analysis in the sector globally. The present study analyses input use efficiency using three non-parametric measures- radial, non-radial, and two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA). It also examines the effect of producers’ concern for product quality and safety (CPQS) index on efficiency. The study uses cross-sectional data of 266 small-scale dried fish producers in the coastal belts of Odisha. The analysis highlights that dried fish producers produce 43–55% below the production frontier, indicating higher input spending relative to the realized value of finished products. The CPQS index is positively and significantly associated with efficiency score, implying that Producers’ concerns for quality and safety are essential for input-use efficiency. Education and prior training exposure correlate significantly with technical efficiency, suggesting that educated and trained producers use inputs more judiciously and avoid loss and waste. Storage ability and direct selling of produce to consumers, as additional indicators of quality products, also correlate with technical efficiency, pointing out that inefficient producers often ignore quality and hygiene. The results underscore the need for interventions. Training and awareness programs about resource use and maintaining quality and hygiene can help producers increase net income, reduce production costs, and ensure a sustainable source of micronutrient-rich food.