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