Title: Efficiency and profitability analysis of seaweed farming in the Solomon Islands: A case study from Wagina, Choiseul Province.

Seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii has great potential to be a multimillion-dollar industry in Solomon Islands, however, production has not changed significantly over the last ten years. Wagina, one of the high-production islands, was chosen for this study to aid in the identification of the underlying problem. The objective of this study was to analyse the profitability and efficiency of various production scales and offer suggestions for improvement. Using Yamane formulas to calculate the appropriate sample size, 78 farmers were selected for the study and interviewed using a questionnaire. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) in the R software was used to evaluate the acquired data for Technical Efficiency (TE), while Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) were used to examine the data for profitability. The results showed that the TEs for small-, medium-, and large-scale farms were 0.83, 0.87, and 0.44, respectively. The production of the farm was found to be greatly impacted by variables, including labour, age, experience, education, length of lines, construction, and farm size. On a medium scale, however, it was discovered that the factors of construction, number of plots, number of lines, and line length had a significant effect on production. For small-scale farms, no significant differences were identified for any of the variables. In terms of inefficiency, it was found that the number of lines, number of seeds per line, farm size, number of plots, age, and household might all lower efficiency for medium-sized farmers as well as for large farms. In terms of profitability, research conducted on small-, medium-, and large-scale farms revealed that each was profitable, albeit at a different scale based on the inputs and outputs of each scale. After a period of five years, the NPV for small-, medium-, and large-scale companies was USD 3,682.6, USD 8,004.5, and USD 52,337.7, respectively. Similarly, at the end of the five-year period, the IRR for small-, medium-, and large-scale farms was 26.8%, 33.5%, and 43.6%, respectively. According to the study's findings, small- and medium-sized farmers are making the best use of the resources at their disposal to produce at the greatest potential level. However, although there is space for development, the overall farm production process has certain inefficiencies. Production scale boosts profitability and efficiency. Although large-scale incomes can be rather substantial, many farmers cannot afford the necessary inputs. More comfortable possibilities for livelihood and growing output are provided by small and medium-sized farmers.