Shrimp farmers still rely on disease-infested fries

Shrimp farmers across the country have to rely on disease-infested post-larvae in absence of quality shrimp fries which affects overall production and puts a damper on higher export prospects.

Local production of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) post-larvae met 10 per cent of the country's demand for black tiger shrimp in fiscal 2021-22 while the remaining 90 per cent were diseased, according to experts.

"The country's aquaculture industry is growing but its small-scale shrimp and prawn producers still need help," said SM Shaheen Anwar, chief of the Safe Aqua Farming for Economic and Trade Improvement (SAFETI) project in Bangladesh.

"So, shrimp production is not increasing at the expected rate," he added.

Anwar went on to say that Bangladesh could boost productivity and support the livelihoods of people working in the domestic shrimp and prawn industries if farmers and other players in the value chain use modern technology, and have access to finance and skilled labour.

He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the SAFETI project, which was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), at the InterContinental Dhaka yesterday.

Of the 55 shrimp hatcheries in Bangladesh, only three produce SPF post-larvae. The local industry started adopting SPF post-larvae production practices back in 2014 and has since expanded such activities, Anwar said.

SM Rezaul Karim, minister of fisheries and livestock, said all the hatcheries should come forward to produce SPF post-larvae to ensure safe and quality shrimp in the country.

Besides, SPF mother shrimp (brood stock) should be locally produced rather than imported, he added.

SAFETI was a six-year project implemented by Winrock International. The project's implementation areas were Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Jashore, and Cox's Bazar.

Through the project, 25,000 farmers across these districts were able to increase the production of farmed prawn as well as their income.

Anwar then said that the project's objectives are to boost the productivity and livelihoods of workers in the shrimp and prawn industries.

In addition, it aimed to improve the food quality in Bangladesh by enhancing the capabilities, capacities and access to services for farmers and value chain actors.

The annual production of shrimp in 2017, which was 295 kilogrammes per hectare on average, was used as the baseline performance of the SAFETI project, after which it increased to 664 kilogrammes per hectare in 2021, he added.

When the project began, SPF post-larvae could meet just 2 per cent of the country's demand.

Peter D Haas, the US ambassador to Bangladesh, said the SAFETI project is a unique example of the warming of relations between the two countries. It is also an indication of how the US is contributing to Bangladesh's business environment, trade expansion, and development of the emerging Indo-Pacific region.

Some 120 officials of the Department of Fisheries were trained under the project and now, they now disseminating their learnings to other stakeholders in the shrimp sector, he added.

KH Mahbubul Haque, director general of the Department of Fisheries, said they applied advanced farming methods developed by SAFETI at the field level on an experimental basis and have emerged successful.

"So, we are taking steps to expand this method of cultivation," he added.

Victoria Becker, international program specialist (Food for Progress) of the International Food Assistance Division under the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, said the USDA plays an outstanding role as a liaison between the US and agriculture-related industries and stakeholders.

She then said SAFETI has significantly contributed to improving the lives and livelihoods of farmers involved in shrimp and prawn farming in Bangladesh.