Fish bonanza for Bangladesh!
Its immensely gratifying to find that against a target of 4.05 million tonnes, fish production this year has been an awe-inspiring 4.13 million tonnes a clear signal that Bangladesh has had a bumper year in fish farming. It is relevant to mention that in 1983-84, this was merely 0.754 million tonnes. The increase in fish production in the past three decades has been more than five times.
We are also encouraged to find that in the last ten years, the growth in this industry has been a steady 5.25 percent. Bangladesh seems to be on the way to experiencing a boom in fish production and, we feel that this positive aspect of the nation must be publicised plus utilised to its full potential. With global population becoming more conscious about maintaining a healthy diet, fish is replacing meat as the main dish on millions of dinner tables around the globe, which means that there is the opportunity to tap on to the surge in fish demand on the world market.
Bangladesh has been exporting shrimp and crabs since the early 70s and will be able to own a hefty chunk of the global fish market by diversifying into other species that are used for sushi an increasingly popular dish among millions of gastronomically eclectic people globally. Buoyed by this positive trend, Bangladesh rightly looks forward to a realistic target of 4.55 million tonnes by 2020-21. However, to achieve this goal, the right infrastructure plus adequate initiatives are necessary.
In a country where water bodies have been ravaged for construction, fish farming can spread only when there is a government legislation putting an end to reckless occupation of water bodies, small and large. Dhaka may not be the ideal city for area-wise small fish farming, but the district towns, which still have open spaces and do not face the pressure of mounting population can be the platforms for widespread fish production under the SME segment with special bank loans provided as an added impetus.
The most remarkable dimension of the recent bumper fish production is the finding that 1.5 million women are engaged in fish farming. With realistic hope, we can look forward to a future where women in rural towns and communities can set up small fish farms supported by small loans. On one hand this will rejuvenate rural entrepreneurship and, on the other, ensure womens emancipation.
During the tumultuous decades after liberation, with the economy often floundering, the phrase maachhe-bhate Bangali often seemed illusory.
Not anymore though!
