Bagda shrimp or black tiger shrimp farmers in the country mostly dependent on local supply for their aquaculture practice. But unfortunately high quality or SPF post larva supply are not adequate in local hatcheries of Bangladesh.
And this shortage has forced them depending on wild-caught post larva which are disease prone or infected, which affecting overall production and consequently hampering large export potential.
To prevent and for development, shrimp farms in Bangladesh requires SPF post larva (specific pathogen free post-larva). According to experts, local production of specific pathogen free PL can met only 10% of the country’s demand for black tiger shrimps in the fiscal year 2021-22, while the remaining 90% was wild-caught or procured from local hatcheries that were mostly substandard.
In this context, Bangladesh Economic and Trade Development Project (SAFETI) Safe Aqua Farming Head Mr. SM Shaheen Anwar said, “country’s aquaculture industry is growing, but small-scale shrimp farmers and shrimp hatchery still need help; so shrimp production is not increasing at the expected pace.”
At the closing ceremony of the SAFETI project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Intercontinental Hotel Dhaka, Mr. Anwar also said, “If we can ensure the use of modern technology with easy access to finance and trained manpower in the shrimp industry; Bangladesh shrimp sector will boost its productivity and ease the life of all connected to it.”
Out of 55 shrimp hatcheries in Bangladesh, only three produce SPF post larva. Mr. Anwar said the local shrimp industry started adopting SPF larva production methods in 2014 and since expanding this operation.
Bangladesh Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mr. SM Rezaul Karim was also present in the event. He said, to ensure safe and high quality shrimp production in the country, all hatcheries should have SPF post-larva production system. Apart from this, SPF mother shrimp (brood stock) should be produced locally rather than imported.
SAFETI was a six-year project managed by Winrock International. The implementation areas of the project were Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Jessore and Cox’s Bazar.
This project has so far enabled 25,000 farmers in those districts to increase their shrimp production as well as increase their income.
Mr. Anwar further added that the objective of the SAFETI project was to increase the productivity and livelihood of workers in the shrimp and prawn industry. It was aimed to improve food quality in Bangladesh by increasing the capacity of all, including farmers and their access to improved services.
In his speech, he also mentioned that annual shrimp production in 2017, which averaged 295 kilograms per hectare, was used as the baseline performance of the SAFETI project and then increased to 664 kilograms per hectare in 2021.
When the project started, SPF PL was able to meet only 2% of the country’s shrimp fries requirement.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Mr. Peter De Haas said that the SAFETI project is a unique example of the cordial relationship between the two countries. It is also an indication of how the United States is contributing to Bangladesh’s business environment, trade expansion, and the development of the emerging Indo-Pacific region.
About 120 officials of the Bangladesh fisheries department were trained under the project and they are now disseminating their knowledge to other stakeholders in the shrimp sector, he added.
Director General of Fisheries Department Mr. KH Mahbubul Haque said that they have implemented the improved farming system developed by SAFETI at the field level on an experimental basis and it has been successful. So we are taking steps to expand this farming system.
Victoria Becker, International Program Specialist (Food for Progress) in the Division of International Food Assistance under USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, who was present at the event, said USDA plays an excellent role as a liaison between the United States and agriculture-related industries and stakeholders.
she then said that SAFETI has made a significant contribution to the development of the lives and livelihoods of farmers involved in shrimp and prawn farming in Bangladesh.
