Satkhira Correspondent:
The shrimp farming demonstration farm was established in 1983 in Ellarchar area of Satkhira Sadar Upazila to modernize and sustain the shrimp industry. The objective was to increase production through research, improved fry production, monitoring water quality, and hands-on training of farmers. That dream has now largely stalled due to the lack of necessary manpower and skilled technicians. There is a danger that the modern equipment installed at a cost of crores of taka will become useless due to lack of use.
The farm has various heavy and modern equipment including a modern hatchery, PCR lab, quarantine lab. In addition, there is a water quality testing system, advanced fry production technology, and a research laboratory. Although these technologies provide opportunities for research on disease-free and quality fry production, water environment control, and disease prevention, many of the equipment cannot be used regularly due to the lack of skilled operators and adequate technical manpower.
Those involved in the shrimp industry say that the sector is going through a difficult time. Many farmers have suffered losses due to diseases, quality fry shortage, increased production costs and the impact of climate change. In such a situation, this research and training-based demonstration farm could have played an important role. Due to the manpower shortage, the institution is not able to utilize its full potential.
According to experts, monitoring water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH is very important in modern shrimp farming. Based on this information, disease prevention and production increase is possible. Although advanced labs and testing equipment are needed for this, not only installing equipment is necessary, but skilled manpower is also essential to operate them.
One of the main goals of the farm was to train farmers at the field level on modern technology. International experience also shows that demonstration farms and hands-on training are the most effective methods for farmers to adopt new technologies. But currently, due to disruption of regular training programs, many farmers on the coast are being deprived of that opportunity.
Meanwhile, the risk of disease in the shrimp industry is increasing. In the past, bacterial attacks have caused losses of hundreds of crores of taka in various hatcheries of the country. Again, shrimp farms in the Satkhira region have also faced major losses due to viral diseases. Those concerned believe that such a crisis may arise in the future if research and early warning activities are not strengthened.
Multiple sources related to the farm claim that many machines are currently being used to a limited extent, and some machines have been idle for a long time. If timely maintenance is not carried out, these valuable machines may be permanently damaged. Then a huge amount of money will have to be spent again to buy new machines and activate the infrastructure.
The southwestern region of the country, including Satkhira, is one of the centers of shrimp production in the country. Thousands of families in the district are directly and indirectly dependent on this sector. According to experts, if the demonstration farm is launched at full capacity, it can play an important role in the spread of quality fry production, disease management and modern farming methods. But if manpower recruitment and training activities are not started quickly, technology worth crores of taka will remain unused, and an important center of potential in the shrimp industry may be lost.
Dr. Abul Kalam Babla, president of Satkhira District Shrimp Fry Business Owners Association and president of Satkhira and Khulna regions of Shrimp Hatchery Association of Bangladesh (SEB), said, “If the PCR lab in Satkhira had been started, it would have been known whether there were germs or not before the fry were released. This would have improved our production a lot.”
He also said, “I have also informed the secretariat meeting about the launch of the machines. But due to manpower shortage, it is not possible. Public awareness needs to be raised on this issue.”
Dr. Shafiqul Islam, senior scientific officer of the shrimp farming demonstration farm, said that these modern machines are under the control of the district fisheries officer. “You talk to him. I am in a meeting, we will talk later,”.
District Fisheries Officer GM Selim said, “About 80 percent of the country’s bagda shrimp is produced from Satkhira. There are many heavy and modern equipment including PCR labs and quarantine labs here. But due to manpower shortage, they cannot be used. The chemicals in these equipment will expire in 2028. We have informed in writing to hire manpower through outsourcing. It is very necessary to use these equipment.”
He also said, “Earlier, we had to go to Khulna or Dhaka for these tests. Now if the tests can be done here, both time and cost will be reduced. It will be possible to test whether the fry are sterile or not, which will benefit the traders. Besides, there is modern equipment here for testing water quality.
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