IMPACT OF SHRIMP FARMING ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIORNMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN COASTAL REGION OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to determine stakeholders’ perception and analyze the situations before and after inception of shrimp farming with a view to determining the impact of shrimp farming in the study area. Data were collected from randomly selected 100 stakeholders (25 shrimp and 75 non-shrimp farmers) of Laskar union of Paikgacha upazila under Khulna district during June to October 2002. The stakeholders’ perception regarding the impact of shrimp farming on agriculture was clearer than that of socio-economic and environmental. The stakeholders were classified into three categories such as highly clear perception (15%), moderately clear perception (61%), and less clear perception (24%) on the basis of their perception regarding the impact of shrimp farming. The shrimp and non-shrimp farmers differed from each other in all other than age and farming experience. All the selected characteristics of the stakeholders had a significant relationship with their perception. Aspiration was most important single contributing characteristics of the stakeholders explained 71.30 percent of the total variation followed by cosmopoliteness, training and education. Different types of impact were observed due to inception of shrimp farming in the study area. The income from unit area of land under shrimp farming, standard of living, female labour employment, road communication, electrification and plant bio-diversity were positively influenced but the introduction of shrimp farming. Dropout from different level of schooling, social crimes, fuel crisis and diseases outbreak increased but male labour employment opportunity, rice yield, livestock population, plant population, amount of rainfall, quality of water decreased after inception of shrimp farming. The shrimp farming also influenced the extinction of fresh water fishes, indigenous rice varieties, aquatic plants and animals. Leadership has shifted to non-deliberate and political persons. Percentage of owner and share farming has decreased but lease farming has increased. Area under agriculture has decreased and arable land has shifted mostly to mono shrimp farming and to some extent shifted to shrimp cum rice farming. The shrimp farmers indicated viral infection in shrimp farming while the non-shrimp farmers addressed delay payment of lease money by shrimp farmers as their major problem.