Bangladesh is an agricultural country, and its farmers have mainly understood farming to mean growing food grains. People have paid more attention to grain production in recent years, and the country is now moving towards near self-sufficiency in food grains. Fish has been part of the daily diet since ancient times as a source of protein. In the past plenty of fish came from open water bodies, so farmers did not feel much need to farm fish. Now, with rapid population growth, demand for fish is rising day by day, while fish production is falling for a number of natural and man-made reasons.

The good news is that Bangladesh is among the world's top five in farmed fish, and second only to India in catches from rivers and haors. The centre of global freshwater fish production is shifting towards Asia, and Bangladesh has become important in that shift.

Data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that Bangladesh has held fifth place in the world in farming fish and other aquatic animals, and in catching fish from inland waters nobody but India is ahead of it. The picture comes from FAO's "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026" report, based on 2024 data. It says global production of fish and other aquatic output reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, of which 195 million tonnes were aquatic animals and 40 million tonnes algae, with a sales value of about $560 billion. While aquaculture in other countries covers much besides fish, in Bangladesh it mostly means fish. Bangladesh ranks after China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam in aquatic animal farming.

In catching aquatic animals from inland open waters, Bangladesh ranks second, and here too the catch is mostly fish. Fish farming in Bangladesh has made great progress over the past few decades and plays an important role in the economy. According to the Department of Fisheries, the fisheries sector contributes 2.53 per cent of GDP, and its growth in 2023-24 was 2.81 per cent. Compared with FAO's previous report, Bangladesh has held its position, but the latest report shows progress in shrimp production, where it has moved up one place from 14th.

The country has large numbers of ponds and coastal shrimp projects, and improved farming methods could raise shrimp and fish production and speed farmers' economic development. There are now 1.3 million ponds and dighis suitable for farming, covering 147,000 hectares, and coastal shrimp farms covering 110,000 hectares. Because fish and shrimp farming is seen as more profitable than crop farming, farmers are now coming forward with great enthusiasm. With proper management, these ponds and shrimp farms could produce more than 300,000 tonnes a year, which would help farmers' economic development.

With this potential for expanding fish farming using improved technology in mind, a fish culture extension project funded by Danida is being carried out in Mymensingh. Farmers are given loans and trained in improved methods. The project aims at self-employment and farmers' socio-economic development. Fish production in the project's ponds now averages 3.38 tonnes per hectare.

Data from the Mymensingh project show clearly that improved fish farming is more profitable than growing crops. Farmers' sources of income have grown since the project began. Before semi-intensive farming, fish accounted for 6 per cent of their income; with semi-intensive farming it has risen to 38 per cent, while the share from crop farming has fallen from 70 per cent to 46 per cent. People are now keener to farm fish as a source of income, and it has helped raise household incomes.

Comparing returns, crop farming alone gives a gross profit of 58.98 per cent, fish farming alone 128 per cent and integrated fish and poultry farming 90.50 per cent. This shows that fish farming is more profitable than crop farming and greatly increases farmers' incomes. If fish and shrimp are produced with improved methods in ponds and shrimp farms across the country through extension work, farmers will see encouraging socio-economic progress.

Fish farming needs little capital and little labour, yet earns more than any other activity. It also improves nutrition, provides work and raises living standards. For these reasons, fish farming is of immense importance to farmers' economic development.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.