Friday, December 26, 2014

Crab farming in saline water instead of paddy

25 December, 2014
Syful Islam (RTNN): Farmers in Khulna and Satkhira districts nowadays produce crab in saline affected lands instead of other crops as those can hardly survive there due to excessive salt in soil.
Seawater frequently enters the lands of these districts because of increased number of flash floods and storm surges. The water remains in the lands for long raising their salt level to so much high that no crops can grow or survive there.
Failing to produce rice or other crops in those lands, years back farmers had started to cultivate shrimp there bringing water from sea. As seawater remained in the lands for several years due to shrimp cultivation, their salinity level now reached further high.
Aziz Tarafder, a crab farmer in Sonachar of Khulna district, said when shrimp is cultivated in one piece of land, salinity spreads to the nearest land and no crops can be produced there next year. So, the farmers find no other options but to cultivate shrimp or crab there.
He said shrimp and crab cultivation in these districts has expanded manifold in this way in the recent years causing a drastic fall in production of rice and other crops.
Mr Tarafder said reducing the salinity level of land to ready them for producing other crops is too much time consuming and very expensive. “So, the lands which come under shrimp cultivation once cannot be freed from producing the same.”
Another farmer, Jamal Uddin, said in the recent past farming crab in those saline affected lands was also found to be profitable. As a result nowadays farmers of these areas have started crab fattening in those lands instead of trying to produce paddy or other crops.
He said coastal farmers collect immature crabs from the nearest river and sea and keep those in the lands full of saline water for weeks. Those are being exported to different countries once they become matured. Both the demands and prices of these matured crabs are much high in those countries.
Mr Uddin said the production cost of crab is much lower than that of shrimp and almost no disease affects it. As a result farmers of the areas nowadays are increasingly growing crab instead of paddy.
“Many of us these days have started crab fattening business since it brings them a good return,” he added.
According to officials of department of fisheries presently, crab is being grown in some 4,000 farms in Khulna district, 350 farms in Satkhira district, and 340 farms in Bagerhat district. The handsome return from crab farming has brought solvency to many farmers in those districts.
They said crab farming is also bringing foreign currencies to the country alongside their local sales. A significant volume of crab, produced here, is being exported every year bringing the growers handsome return.
Agriculture officials said crab growing has brought a good area of lands under farming otherwise those would remain barren because of excessive salinity. Farmers should identify more adaptation measures in the face of growing impacts of climate change which in the coming days will bring more challenges for them, they added.
http://www.english.rtnn.net//newsdetail/detail/1/4/60720#.VJwAEcEA

Hanging, floating gardens help farmers grow vegetables

24 December, 2014
Syful Islam (RTNN) : Farmers in Bangladesh’s coastal districts nowadays grow vegetables in hanging and floating gardens as lands in many areas remain under water for nearly six months a year following sea level rise.
Water of nearest rivers, swell during the summer monsoon, flooding croplands, leaving poor farmers at bay, as they find no work nor can grow crops. During the period many coastal families have to strive to earn livelihood and many pass days without food.
Years back, it was a very common scenario in many coastal areas as the impacts of climate change including flash flood, cyclone, storm surge, water-logging, salinity, and drought had started to hit Bangladesh frequently. The sea level rise, as an impact of global warming, has caused river water to swell easily and drowns coastal areas almost every year.
Bangladesh, situated almost inside the belly of Bay of Bengal, is criss-crossed by more than 230 of the world’s most unstable rivers. Due to low water flow from the upstream and poor dredging, the depth of river beds have become very low, thus in every rainy season water swells up and maroons nearest lands and villages.
However, coastal farmers in the recent years have invented alternative ways to grow vegetables, making hanging and floating gardens, thanks to their endeavour to get adapted to the impacts of climate change.
Hanging garden is an innovative strategy to grow vegetables amid water-logging. And a floating garden is built using aquatic weeds as a base where vegetables can be grown.
The lands in Nazirpur sub-district under Pirojpur district remains under water for a significant period every year where farmers can grow nothing after Boro season. Farmers nowadays produce vegetables in those lands setting up floating gardens.
Abdur Rashid Molla, a farmer of Mugarjhore village under the sub-district, said to earn some money utilizing the water-logged lands, he makes raft from water hyacinth, a common weed, paddy straw, nalkhagra – a freshwater wetland tree, or other organic materials like azola, coconut straw, bamboo, and old rope.
He said the water hyacinth is placed onto the bamboo layer several times to build up its thickness. Later, soil, compost and cow dung are added to cover the base of the raft to a depth of around 25cm. The compost is made up from azola, a good nitrogen fixing plant, and other readily available organic matters.
Molla also said after that the seeds are sown by making round balls of compost comprising of decomposed water hyacinth and an organic fertilizer known locally as tema. A couple of seeds are planted into each ball and kept in a shaded area while germination takes place. Once the seedlings have begun to grow they can be planted out onto the raft.
He said crops like Kang Kong (leafy vegetables), okra (lady’s finger), gourd, brinjal (aubergine), pumpkin, bean, and onions can be grown in the raft.
Molla also said he earns some Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 each season buy growing vegetables in the floating gardens. In Nazirpur now vegetables are being grown in several thousand acres of land in floating gardens which has made many farmers financially solvent.
Many non-profit organizations like Practical Action Bangladesh and Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha are providing training to farmers to grow vegetables in floating and hanging gardens.
Shova Rani Sarker of Manirampur under Jessore district in south-western Bangladesh now produces vegetables in hanging gardens as her lands remain under water due to water-logging.
The water-logging has become a permanent problem after implementation of Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project, which was later rated as unsuccessful, less effective, inefficient, and unlikely to be sustainable.
Due to the permanent water-logging in lands many families of the areas, like Shova Rani Sarker’s, have become poor failing to grow paddy and other crops there. Many had started fish farming or fishing in the rivers but become unsuccessful to ensure livelihoods.
At one stage Shova Rani, in consultation with other neighbours, had started growing vegetables in ganging gardens. To create a hanging garden farmers of that area collect daily household wastes and keep those in a hole to decompose. After that they mix soil with the decomposed wastes and put those in big pots.
Later, the pots are hanged by building bamboo structures where seeds of vegetables are sown.
Shova Rani said nowadays many farmers in her area grow vegetables in hanging garden system. “I earn a good sum by selling those vegetables in nearby markets alongside meeting the nutritional needs of family members,” she said.
http://www.english.rtnn.net//newsdetail/detail/1/4/60699#.VJwAGcEA