KALIGANJ, Satkhira — Farmers in Kaliganj upazila are reaping success raising bagda shrimp with an improved traditional method that has cut disease losses and doubled returns within three months, the district fisheries department said.
The shrimp do not die in mass outbreaks, grow rapidly and return double the invested money in just three months, prompting farmers to take up the method collectively. The technique is being promoted under a project of the Department of Fisheries and is encouraging others to follow.
According to the district fisheries department, bagda shrimp is farmed by the traditional method in 55,000 enclosures, large and small, across 262,000 hectares of land in the district. Farmers in Satkhira had long been weighed down by losses under that method. Viruses and heat waves wiped out shrimp in the enclosures, pushing many farmers to the verge of bankruptcy. Semi-intensive farming was tried later but did not deliver much success either, and farmer interest in bagda was declining.
To rescue the farmers from this crisis, the fisheries department stepped in. Under a project called Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries, farmers were trained in the improved traditional method. Maintaining the correct water depth and biosecurity are the main features of the technique. All farmers in the district have been advised to switch to the new method. At present, 23 farmers in Shibpur, Kaliganj, are raising bagda in 23 enclosures on 13 acres using the improved traditional method.
Moktadir Hossain, a bagda farmer in Shibpur, said: “All 23 of us are farming together on this project. Saltwater comes into this canal from the Kalindi River. First we fill the enclosure with water. Then we apply lime and bleaching agents in stages and release virus-free fry. After that we feed them as instructed. We have had huge success. On 72 decimals of land I have harvested 185 kilograms of shrimp. Earlier I could pull only 60 to 70 kilograms.”
Farmer Monirul Islam said: “Because the fry are released according to the water’s salinity, there is almost no mortality. Earlier the water salinity and viruses were not tested, so the shrimp would die within 40 days. Now they barely die. Using the prescribed method we have managed to produce three to four kilograms per decimal.”
Kaliganj Senior Fisheries Officer Najmul Hasan said: “We started work with 23 farmers in Shibpur under the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries project. The success there has been huge. We use biosecurity and virus-free fry in the enclosures. We are delighted that in just three months 20 shrimp weigh a kilogram. Farmers should adopt this method.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report