Salinity forces livelihood changes
Agriculture has been hardest hit, with practically all the area in Mongla and surrounding coastal areas rendered off-limits for farming, primarily due to shrimp farming that uses brackish water. Shrimp remains a lucrative business as the catch is a valuable export item to European Union and the United States. That said, the cost of allowing shrimp industry to prosper in the south has been the sharp fall in production of paddy. With more and more land being diverted to shrimp farming, the dominant crop Aman and to a lesser extent, Aus and Boro, grown traditionally have plummeted in the face of deliberate saline water retention on farmland for shrimp and the congestion of canals putting a squeeze on freshwater supply.
As per Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data during fiscal 2013-14, the area for Aman production was 5,020 acres with rice output estimated at 6,277 tonnes. High salinity, both manmade and as an after-effect of cyclone 'Aila' has resulted in a 75 per cent reduction in paddy output in many areas of Satkhira. Even saline-resistant crop varieties have failed to do well. According to Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), the level of salinity in the affected areas is beyond the tolerable limits of saline-resistant rice varieties. Not only has this made a change in livelihoods for the bulk of farmers in coastal areas, the effects of brackish water to sustain shrimp industry is threatening the survival of both plant and livestock.
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