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Improvement of Livelihood Through Fish Farming in Haor Areas of Bangladesh

Shonia Sheheli
Bangladesh Agricultural University | BAU · Department of Agricultural Extension Education

Mohammed Asaduzzaman Sarker
Bangladesh Agricultural University | BAU · Department of Agricultural Extension Education Managerial Economics

Debashish Sarker Dev
The University of Queensland | UQ · School of Communication and Arts PhD Student at the Centre for Communication and Social Change, School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, Australia

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The major purpose of the study was to determine the livelihood of fish farmers through fish farming in Tarail upazila under Kishoregonj district. Livelihood situation of fish farmers was measured on the basis of five dimensions such as the change in i) food intake, ii) household condition, iii) physical assets, iv) sanitation and v) income due to involvement in fish farming activities. Data were collected by using a pre-tested interview schedule through personal interview method duringJuly2014from sixty (60) fish farmers. The paired t-test was used to measure the comparative change of ‘before’ and ‘after’ involvement in fish farming. The findings revealed that food intake, housing condition, physical assets, sanitation and income all are increased significantly among the respondents. The average food consumption increased to 2279.40 Kcal from 941.28 Kcal, average housing condition increased to 2.58 from 1.38 which indicates move towards having building house, average physical assets increased to 39.83 from 14.73, sanitation increased to 2.38 from 1.40 which indicates move towards paka latrine and income increased to 48.80 thousand to 37.30 thousand per year. The results indicate the betterment of the livelihood of fish farmers due to involvement in fish farming. The fish farmers face some problems such as fish disease problem, over flood problem, lack of market facilities, high cost of fertilizer and fish feed, lack of knowledge on application of fish feed and fertilizer, unavailability of quality seed and species etc. Support from DoF and NGOs working in the fisheries sector should be provided to manage these problems. Therefore, it will improve the livelihood of fish farmers in the study area.

Keywords: Livelihood, Fish farming, Improvement

Location: Haor Areas, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Livelihood

Objectives:

The present study was carried out to assess the role of fish farming to improve the livelihood of fish farmers in haor areas of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

The study was conducted at three villages namely parura, kaulogeeti and vauyal of Rauti Union of Tarail Upazila under Kishorgonj district. These villages were purposively selected because fish farming of these areas was higher than other areas of Tarail Upazila. People of these areas are highly dependent on haor fish farming practices for their livelihood (DoF, 2013). The selection was also made because of the suggestions made by Upazila Fisheries Officer (UFO) and other relevant officials such as Upazila Rural Development Officer, Upazila Agriculture officer etc. of Tarail Upazila. The total number of fish farmers in these three villages were302 which constituted the sampling population. In the second step, 34 percent of the fish farmers were selected as samples by random sampling. Sixty (60) fish farmers were selected and constituted the sample for this study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used in the study. The research team interviewed the sample fishermen at their houses and/or farm sites. Data were collected through the pre-tested interview schedule by face-to-face interview procedure during the period of1 to 31 July 2014. The interviews, lasting about two hours, focus on their existing livelihood condition and their previous livelihood condition. The researcher collected first-hand ideas and information about villages, local people, resources, institutions, infrastructure and public services through informal discussion with local people, local elite, and personnel of different organizations working in the locality. Cross-check interviews were conducted with Local Extension Agent for Fisheries officer, researchers and relevant non-government organization (NGO) workers. Where information was found to be contradictory, the further assessment was carried out. The collected data were coded and entered into SPSS software package for analysis. The comparative analysis between before and after conditions was done through paired t-test. Determination of livelihood improvement of fish farmers was the main objective of the study. The five selected dimensions were used to determine the livelihood improvement. These were: change in food intake, change in housing condition, change in physical assets, change in sanitation and change in increasing scope of income. The livelihood improvement was measured by comparing the average results of previous conditions (recall data of five years)and present conditions considering these five dimensions. Paired t-test was done to measure the significant difference between ‘before’ and ‘after’ involvement in fish farming. The problems faced by the farmers on fish farming which hinder their livelihood improvement was also determined using a four-point rating scale such as, high, medium, low and not at all. The possible range of problem score for each respondent could be ‘o’ to ‘30’ a total score of ‘0’ indicated no problems in respect to utilizing support services while a score of ‘30’ indicated the highest problem. Problem confrontation score was measure and a rank order was done on the basis of this score. For each problem, the score could range from 0 to 180.

Source of Information: Bangladesh Journal of Extension Education Volume 26, No. 1&2, 2014: 77-84

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

After involvement in fish farming, the extent of livelihood improvement of the respondents has been increased remarkably in respect of food intake, housing, physical assets, sanitation and income. As a result fish farmers get the opportunity to spend the money in diversified sectors other than fulfilling just the basic requirements. On the other hand, some problems were observed among the respondents regarding fish cultivation. Therefore, Government and other related organizations should initiate some programs to improve the knowledge of the fish farmers of haor areas about the fish species selection, disease of fish, controlling measures, feed and fertilizer use etc. Proper training can be arranged to make fish farmers more skillful to mitigate these problems.

Knowledge Management: Journal