The new report is titled “Aquaculture, employment, poverty, food security and well-being in Bangladesh: A comparative study.” The report was generated by WorldFish. WorldFish is an international, non-profit research organization that harnesses the potential of fisheries and aquaculture to reduce hunger and poverty. Digital Journal found out more from Stephen Hall, Director General, WorldFish.
The report is important it demonstrates a way for one of the poorest communities in the world a standard level of income can be generated. The area of focus is Bangladesh, and whether aquaculture can generate significant returns.
With the new study, more small landowners and resource-poor farmers were shown to practice commercial aquaculture than semi-subsistence forms. The study also found greater social and economic benefits in small and medium sized aquaculture enterprises compared with smaller scale or household operations.
In terms of wider economic benefits, the study also showed that employment generated by aquaculture is generally higher than for other forms of agriculture, particularly those that are more seasonal, such as rice production.
Moreover, commercially-oriented aquaculture producers obtained considerable nutritional benefit by consuming larger quantities of fish from their own farms than households operating backyard operations.
Discussing the report further Stephen Hall said that: “By identifying the modes of aquaculture that most benefits the poor we can best direct efforts to bolster this sector. While we have seen the detrimental effects of large scale aquaculture for communities it is now clearer that the benefits of smaller scale commercial operations are potentially great in increasing food security and employment.”
In related news, WorldFish is supporting the Sunderbans clean-up as part of the ECOFISH Bangladesh (Enhanced Coastal Fisheries) project. This relates to a major oil spill incident that took place on December 9, last year. The incident arose when oil tanker Southern Star 7 sank when the tanker collided with a cargo vessel near the port of Mongla, in the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh. The cause of the collision was due to heavy fog.
