Food production is amajor driver of global environmental change and the overshoot of planetary sustainability boundaries. Greater affluence in developing nations and human population growth are also ...increasing demand for all foods, and for animal proteins in particular. Consequently, a growing body of literature calls for the sustainable intensification of food production, broadly defined as “producing more using less”. Most assessments of the potential for sustainable intensification rely on only one or two indicators, meaning that ecological trade-offs among impact categories that occur as production intensifies may remain unaccounted for. The present study addresses this limitation using life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify six local and global environmental consequences of intensifying aquaculture production in Bangladesh. Production data are from a unique survey of 2,678 farms, and results show multidirectional associations between the intensification of aquaculture production and its environmental impacts. Intensification (measured in material and economic output per unit primary area farmed) is positively correlated with acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicological impacts in aquatic ecosystems; negatively correlated with freshwater consumption; and indifferent with regard to global warming and land occupation. As production intensifies, the geographical locations of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, acidifying emissions, freshwater consumption, and land occupation shift from the immediate vicinity of the farm to more geographically dispersed telecoupled locations across the globe. Simple changes in fish farming technology and management practices that could help make the global transition to more intensive forms of aquaculture be more sustainable are identified.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The participatory market chain approach (PMCA) is a methodology for improving the performance of poorly-coordinated value chains. This study uses a mixed methods approach to assess the effectiveness ...of PMCA for promoting aquaculture value chain development in Bangladesh and Nepal. The study consists of a quantitative structured survey and two story-based qualitative methods; Most Significant Change analysis, and SenseMaker® research software. Quantitative results show that in both countries the PMCA intervention significantly increased the quantity of fish produced, consumed and sold by participating households, leading to an approximate doubling of yields and income from fish. Qualitative findings indicate that PMCA fostered better access to markets for inputs and end products among market chain actors of all types, and improved their coordination and collective decision making, thereby somewhat rebalancing the dynamics of trade relationships to empower small producers.
•A participatory market chain approach (PMCA) was applied to aquaculture value chain development in Bangladesh and Nepal.•Quantitative and qualitative mixed methods were used to evaluate the success of PMCA.•The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique was used to evaluate project outcomes.•SenseMaker® software was used to assess changes in the relationships between value chain actors.•PMCA successfully facilitated the inclusion of smallholders in markets.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Fish contribute a significant amount of animal protein to the diets of people in Bangladesh, about 63% of which comes from aquatic animals. In Bangladesh, fish is mainly derived from two sources: ...capture and culture. Aquaculture has shown tremendous growth in the last two decades, exhibiting by about 10% average annual growth in production. Capture fisheries, although still the major source of supply of fish, have become static or are in decline due to over‐fishing and environmental degradation, and it is now believed that aquaculture has the greatest potential to meet the growing demand for fish from the increasing population. At present, aquaculture production accounts for about one‐third of the total fish production in Bangladesh. This paper examines the impact of an aquaculture development project in Bangladesh on food security, with particular emphasis on the poor. The analysis shows a positive impact of aquaculture development on employment, income and consumption. A number of implications for policy in areas that might strengthen these outcomes are discussed and recommendations are presented.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Fisheries management involves balancing the competing demands of different users of fishery resources. Conflicts among fisheries stakeholders arise due to differences in power, interests, values, ...priorities, and manner of resource exploitation. Conflicts also emanate from institutional failures in managing fisheries and enforcing laws and regulations. Effective targeted communication has a key role to play in managing conflicts between fisheries stakeholders. This paper assesses a fisheries conflict communication framework called FishCom, a tool for developing plans and strategies for managing conflicts in coastal fisheries in Bangladesh. FishCom is a structured participatory process intended for use by policymakers and fishery managers. The results show that effective communication plans can play a significant role in eliminating conflicts.
•A variety of types of conflict prevail in the coastal fisheries of Bangladesh.•A participatory communications framework for conflict resolution was developed.•Many conflicts were resolved through appropriate communication strategies.•Communication plans reduced, but did not entirely eliminate, conflicts.•Informal institutions acted as effective mediators for conflict resolution.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The aim of this study is to describe current chemical use practices in the aquaculture sector of Bangladesh and to identify the factors that influence them. A survey on the use of chemical and ...biological products was conducted between November 2011 and June 2012 using structured questionnaires administered to operators of nine farm groups, including homestead ponds, carps, tilapias, koi fish, shrimps, shrimps and prawns, prawns, rice and fish, and pangas. Farm type and farm owner characteristics were used as independent variables to explain observed chemical use. Forty-six chemical and biological products (7 water and sediment treatment compounds, 13 disinfectants, 7 antibiotics, 7 pesticides, 8 fertilizers and 4 feed additives and probiotics) were reported to be applied in aquaculture. The use of disinfectants and antibiotics was found to be highest in intensive koi and pangas farms as compared to other farm groups, whereas the use of fertilizers was lowest in these farm groups. A higher percentage of prawn and shrimp/prawn farmers applied pesticides than other farm groups. A multivariate analysis showed that patterns of use of chemical and biological products were significantly different across aquaculture farm groups, with the largest number of chemical compounds used by the intensive koi farm group. The study shows that, despite rapid expansion of commercial aquaculture in Bangladesh, use of chemical and biological products is still relatively low compared to other aquaculture producing countries in Asia. However, despite this finding, the study identified a large number of compounds that are currently in use, and that require further regulation and evaluation regarding their potential environmental and human health impacts, as already done in most developed countries.
Chemical use practices in Bangladesh
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Like many other South and Southeast Asian countries, different national and international organizations are actively promoting integrated rice–fish farming system (IRFFS) as a potential technique to ...alleviate poverty, food and nutrition insecurity in different parts of Bangladesh, since 1990s. However, little rigorous empirical research exists on the determinants of adoption and welfare impact of such technologies, particularly in marginalized people's settings. This article addresses this research gap, using the case of indigenous small-scale IRFFS farm households cross-sectional survey data from northern and northwestern regions of Bangladesh. It employs double hurdle model for determining the factors affecting IRFFS adoption and intensity of adoption in the first stage and propensity score-matching (PSM) method to analyze the causal impact of IRFFS adoption on welfare of marginalized indigenous farm households in Bangladesh in the second stage. The findings of the first stage study indicate that among the key determinants of adoption are gender of the household head, access to irrigation, education and conflict with villagers. The results also show that farm size and access to credit play a significant role in the extent of adoption, implying land and credit constraints; hence, it can be difficult for land and credit constraint farmers to extend the adoption of the technology. In the second stage the study shows that IRFFS has a robust positive and significant impact on farm household welfare measured by household annual income, farm income, and quantity and frequency of fish consumption. Overall, the article provides evidence that promoting IRFFS technology is important to improve welfare of rural people especially for marginalized poor indigenous small-scale rural farm households in Bangladesh. But necessary interventions are needed to overcome the inhibiting factors for more widespread adoption of this promising technology.
•Adoption and impact of integrated rice–fish farming system (IRFFS) are evaluated.•Micro-econometric causal analysis frameworks are developed.•Complementary inputs such as access to credit and irrigation are the major determinants of IRFFS adoption.•IRFFS has a robust positive and significant impact on welfare of indigenous farm households.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
•The shaded nature of household ponds in Barisal region of Bangladesh constrained promotion of pond-dyke based integrated aquaculture–horticulture.•A new technology known as IFCAS (integrated ...floating cage aquageoponics system) for growing fish and vegetables in shaded ponds, was developed through farmer participatory action research to support households’ nutrition in the region.•The participating households consumed fish and vegetables from IFCAS within a short period of time of the start of the field trial, while homestead vegetable production was not possible.•A financial analysis showed the benefit-cost ratio of IFCAS was >1, indicating the investment efficiency of IFCAS for farmers.
Farmer participatory action research was carried out from July to December 2013 to design and construct a technology known as IFCAS (integrated floating cage aquageoponics system) for growing fish and vegetables in shaded ponds in the Barisal region of Bangladesh under the EU funded ANEP (Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Project). Here the terms aqua, geo and ponics means pond water, pond mud/soil and cultivation, respectively. Producing and regularly harvesting fish in shaded ponds and growing vegetables on surrounding dykes for household consumption was constrained. To overcome the difficulties, an IFCAS (3.66m×2.44m=9m2) was set in each of 9 shaded ponds – 5 highly shaded ponds (HSP) and 4 moderately shaded ponds (MSP) – in which GIFT tilapia strain (Orechromis niloticus) was stocked at the rate of 100m−3 cage. In the ponds, carp species (Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus cirrhosus and Cyprinus carpio) were stocked at the ratio of 1:2:2:1, and at the rate of 14,820ha−1. Tilapia were fed floating feed and the carp were fed with supplementary feed. Vegetables were grown on the IFCAS scaffold, and tilapia were grown in the net-cage constructed underneath. Women members of HSP households participated fully in the action research in the production of vegetables and fish in IFCAS. Participating households started consuming vegetables and tilapia from IFCAS within 1.5 and 1 month of the start of the experiment, respectively. Average fish consumption of 20kghousehold−1 was recorded within four months, of which more than 50% was tilapia from IFCAS. Overall fish and vegetable production was higher in MSP as compared to HSP. A financial analysis showed the benefit-cost ratio of IFCAS was >1, indicating the investment efficiency of IFCAS for farmers.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The rapid growth of aquaculture in Bangladesh over the past three decades has been facilitated by increasing supplementary feed use and increasing numbers of feed suppliers, but little is known about ...the organization and behavior of the feed supply segment of aquaculture value chain. We conducted a comprehensive survey with 79 feed suppliers of two types: ‘dealers’ linked to feed companies (n = 34) and independent retailers (n = 45), in the seven main aquaculture producing districts of southern Bangladesh in 2021 to address this knowledge gap. We found the following. (1) Over the past 10 years, the number of traders increased 70% and the volume of feed traded almost doubled. (2) Feed supply is shifting from traditional agricultural byproducts to formulated feeds (47% of total feed), and floating feeds as a subset of those (54% of formulated feed), contributing to increasing farm productivity. (3) The formulated fish feed market in Bangladesh is diverse, but quite concentrated. Feed suppliers sold formulated feed produced by 35 companies, with eight companies accounting for 74% of sales. (4) Feed handling practices are efficient. Traders sell feeds quickly (average turnover time 10 days) and storage practices are adequate to maintain quality. (5) No traders reported experiencing any waste or loss of feed during their most recent completed transaction, and only 5% of traders reported losing a small portion of feed (1.7%) during transport. (6) The average profit margin earned by feed suppliers is a modest 6.2%. (7) Feed trading creates substantial employment: 43,937 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the seven surveyed districts. In sum, the feed supply segment of the aquaculture value chain in southern Bangladesh is dynamic, well-developed, and relatively competitive and efficient. This finding is contrary to the conventional wisdom, which often portrays the sector as inefficient and beset by problems.
•Feed trading businesses in Bangladesh have enabled the intensification of aquaculture.•Trader feed handling practices are efficient with rapid stock turnover minimizing spoilage and feed loss and waste.•Feed trading creates substantial employment: approximately one FTE job in feed supply for every 10 FTEs on-farm.•Feed trader profit margins are modest, and traders appear to reduce credit constraints for farms by offering credit in-kind.•The feed supply segment of the aquaculture value chain in Bangladesh is dynamic, well-developed, competitive, efficient.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The present study assesses the production costs, profitability and the importance of inputs (seed, feed, fertilizer and labor) in striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) production under ...polyculture system in Bangladesh. A survey was conducted by structured questionnaire during November 2011–June 2012 that included 201 pangasius farmers of four locations, namely Bogra, Jessore, Mymensingh and Narshingdi districts. Based on the aquaculture operation area and management characteristics, these farms were categorized into small, medium and large scale farms. The average annual production costs, gross income, net income and benefit cost ratios were higher (P≥0.05) in medium farms, followed by small and large farms and these parameters varied significantly (P≤0.05) between farm locations. The Cobb-Douglas production function model was applied to evaluate several independent variables (inputs) related with fish production. The results showed that feeding and stocking density were the most significant factors influencing fish production. The analysis also showed an increasing return to scale, implying an increase in inputs will more than proportionately increase production. The estimated marginal physical productivity of the inputs suggests that stocking density, feeding and labor should be increased in order to increase farm profitability. However, some inputs were inefficiently used by different farm categories. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that farmers should consider more attention on the use of these inputs more efficiently in order to facilitate a sustainable increase in fish production.
•An economic analysis of pangasisus production including costs, profitability and the role of inputs was conducted.•Production costs, gross income, net income and benefit cost ratios were higher in medium farms than small and large farms.•Feeding and stocking density were the most significant inputs for pangasius productivity.•Some inputs were inefficiently used by different farm categories.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The Adivasi Fisheries Project, aimed at diversifying livelihood options for resource-poor Adivasi (ethnic) communities in the North and Northwest of Bangladesh, was implemented during 2007–9. ...Aquaculture and related technologies were introduced to a total of 3594 resource-poor Adivasi households. Baseline and end-line surveys were applied to assess the changes in their livelihoods following intervention. Household incomes of project participants rose significantly (p≤0.01), which was attributed to the increased share of aquaculture and related enterprises from 15% in 2007 to nearly 30% in 2009 in terms of annual household incomes. By contrast, the contribution of aquaculture to household incomes remained virtually unchanged (p>0.05) among non-project participants. The monthly frequency of fish, meat and egg consumption increased between 2007 and 2009 (p≤0.01), confirming improved food and nutrition security among project participants. Although non-project participants also slightly increased their fish consumption, it remained significantly lower (p≤0.01) than that of the project participants. The results from the present study contradict the prevailing view that aquaculture is inappropriate for landless, socially marginalized and extremely poor communities by demonstrating its relevance to improving livelihoods, provided that a diversified approach is followed and interventions are tailored to needs and capabilities of target households.
•Aquaculture related activities were introduced to poor Adivasi (ethnic) households.•Significant increases in incomes, savings and fish consumption were realized.•Aquaculture enterprises can be adopted and sustained by the extreme poor.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
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