Fish farming revolution in Barind

One of country's most arid regions was the Barendra (Barind). Even during the month of November, due to water scarcity, all the farmlands used to remain dry, the tube wells seemed not to be working. People often feared this inhospitable environment of the Barind would turn the locals into climate refugees. You all know how climatic changes have impacted on the nature and features of different regions across Bangladesh. Some places, where rain is rare, have become greener while some areas are losing their crops due to extreme flooding.

At the same time, some other places are enlivened with abundant crops, thanks to added fertility in soil. Perhaps, the nature has changed for the positive in the Barind region and now appears before us with a very new look and promise.   

Dear readers, a couple of weeks back I went to the Barind region to film for Hridoye Mati O Manush. I was astonished to see the change and also the prospects the region offers now. The entire region has turned green. Most of the barren lands are now under cultivation. Years back, due to the nature of land and other geographical features, it was tough to produce crops in Chapainawabganj. People suffered from want of drinking water. As there was scarcity of water throughout the year, people never imagined of going for fish farms. Now, you would see a variety of crops being cultivated there and fish farming is going on in full swing. Here in Chanpainawabganj, a large fish farm started its journey two years back. It involved a huge investment and certainly the most modern fish farm, I would say. On 20 hectares of land, in 36 ponds, the fish farm reminded me of Bagerhat, Satkhira, Trishal, Bhaluka and Fulpur -- the most recognized fish farming regions of our country. It's a wonderful water landscape I found in the huge fish farm. As far as your eyes go, you'll see ponds after ponds, adjacent to one another.        

It was early dawn when I reached the fish farm in Chanpainawabganj. The sun didn't come out then. The farm-labourers were busy in giving food to the fishes in the ponds. This endeavour has a far-reaching goal and mission. The mission is to invest and bring back the profits while ensuring quality fish for the consumers. This is probably the best example of fish farm extension that I observed during my work span of more than three decades. In the past, farmers used to experiment at small scale initiatives, but now the days have changed. Beside the change in mainstream farming, big entrepreneurs have joined in the commercial fish farming.

I hope you also remember the campaign of Hakim Ali, I produced for Bangladesh Television. I created the character of Hakim Ali as a symbol of an ideal fish farmer. Fish farming ideas was then slowly taking place among the farmers. When I used to ask the farmers why they didn't farm fish in their household pond, they used to give me a weird stare, saying, “We've heard that paddy and jute can be cultivated, but how come fish?” It clearly means, a couple of decades back not many farmers had the idea of fish farming. Since then I have been trying hard to create small entrepreneurs through BTV's Mati O Manush. Many entrepreneurs have come up with very unique initiatives and became successful with fish farming in ponds. The 20-hectare land in Chanpainawabganj reminded me of the revolutionary efforts on television. It seems I have been waiting for all these decades to witness the success.

The name of the huge fish farm is Nawab Matsya Khamar, located at Amnura road in Chapainawbganj's Bulonpur. The entrepreneur is Akbar Hossain. The first thing he said after I entered his farm, “I was really inspired to see your programmes on BTV and Channel i.” He also went to different countries to bring in the latest fish farming developments to his farm. To reach the peak of success, he has invested his brain and money together. I could understand the fish farm of Akbar will turn into something colossal in the next few years. Akbar has also planted other vegetables, flowers, diversified crops. Last year, he sold bananas worth Tk 2 lakh. Akbar also has his own feed mill, just beside a pigeon farm. 

This huge farm employs 20 permanent labourers and 30 temporary people. Akbar follows almost all the modern technologies fit for fish farming. To ensure sufficient oxygen in the ponds, he's using aerator. In the past, I have seen farmers used bamboos to hit the water of the ponds for this oxygen generation. He's not using any manual feeding system; rather, he's using auto-feeders.

"This is how I'm saving a lot of food and I can ensure the right amount of food for the fishes," says Akbar.

"However, there is crisis of fingerlings," adds Akbar, demanding government assistance in this regard immediately. Looking at the great prospect of Akbar's fish farm and others that I went to, it felt like, it's not a difficult matter for us to export fishes like Vietnam, Myanmar and we can easily earn the foreign currency. During 1990-95, we used to import fishes from India and Vietnam. Now, we don't need that anymore. We have been successful in meeting the local demand. I can declare through this write up, that fish farmers like Akbar Hossain are very well ready to grab the international market. This was possible due to the government's effort and also innovative farmers like Akbar. That is why Bangladesh now stands in the fourth position in producing freshwater fish. Meanwhile, a business organization has started exporting fish fillet to Europe. That's the start for sure and I hope many more will come up with great ideas so that Bangladesh can stamp its identity across the globe.              

Dear readers, with the efforts from fish farmers and entrepreneurs, government assistance, learning from globally acknowledged practices, following the media stories on the latest technologies, support from scientists and researchers, Bangladesh has turned into world's one of the most significant fish producing countries. For this united effort Bangladesh is a role model in fish production to UN's FAO. I personally believe, with great initiatives from Akbar Hossain and alike, there will be even better revolution that we don't know yet. New investors will join in with strong force of effective technology and strategy. Bangladesh will shine brighter in fish revolution in near future- I do believe strongly.

Shykh Seraj is a Media and Agriculture Development Activist. He is an Ashoka Fellow and recipient of Ekushey Padak, FAO A.H. Boerma Award and many other prestigious accolades. At Channel i, he is Director and Head of News. He is also Director and Host of the popular agro-documentary, “Hridoye Mati O Manush”.

News Source : Click Here