Read the passage below carefully:
In the shallow intertidal zones of Zanzibar’s eastern coast, red seaweed cultivation has long served as a vital source of income for female farmers. In recent years, however, rising sea surface temperatures have induced severe thermal bleaching in nearshore waters. Farmers were initially presented with two distinct paths: navigate into deeper, rougher offshore waters requiring motorized boats, or shift toward onshore post-harvest value addition. Recognizing that raw seaweed exports command minimal prices on global markets, a local initiative installed solar-powered dehydrators and processing equipment. This allowed the community to extract commercial-grade carrageenan locally for industrial supply chains. Despite a forty percent drop in overall raw harvest volume caused by persistent marine heatwaves, the cooperative’s total revenue rose by sixty percent over three years. Seeing this economic shift, adjacent coastal councils have started redirecting local infrastructure grants away from vessel purchase subsidies and into community-owned processing facilities.
Based on the passage, evaluate the following statement:
"The neighboring councils' decision to redirect grants implies that onshore processing generates higher economic returns per unit of harvested seaweed than expanding raw offshore sea harvesting."
Answer: Answer