Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh has made a quiet revolution in increasing domestic fish farming 25 times in the last three decades, an international study reveals.
The latest study of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) also said 75 percent fish farmers sell fish commercially.
A report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier ranked Bangladesh fourth in fish production in the world.
The IFPRI presented its research findings in the form of a paper, “quiet revolution” in the aquaculture value chain in Bangladesh – published in the June issue of Aquaculture, a renowned journal.
There has been an equally rapid shift among consumers eating fish from a home pond to purchasing farmed fish from the market, the study also said.
“What really surprised me about these findings,” said Ricardo Hernandez, research coordinator at IFPRI and lead author of the study, “was the extent of the growth in many sectors, not just in production but also in many off-farm segments, such as rural and urban traders, input dealers and feed mills.”
The rapid increase in mainly small and medium actors has produced a more competitive environment that has pushed the adoption of new technologies, which has increased productivity, Hernandez said, adding that this has greatly benefitted poor and low-income consumers.
According to the IFPRI study, this rapid growth has been spawned by higher demand; improvements in technology, communications and infrastructure and investments by millions of farm households and small and medium enterprises.
Very little change was brought about by NGO or government action, although the government played an important role in the early stages with infrastructure investment (such as investment in fish seed production, electricity and roads), a pro-business outlook, and a laissez-faire approach to land use and crop choice.
“Aquaculture has become an important driver of the Bangladeshi economy and the industry now employs as many persons as the garment sector another growing success story in the country,” said Hernandez.
