Elsevier

Aquaculture

Volume 465, 1 December 2016, Pages 198-208
Aquaculture

Factors determining the productivity of mola carplet (Amblypharyngodon mola, Hamilton, 1822) in carp polyculture systems in Barisal district of Bangladesh

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2016.09.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Production of the mola carplet (Amblypharyngodon mola), a small vitamin A rich fish, has the potential to reduce human malnutrition in Bangladesh. However, although efforts have been made to promote mola culture, the factors affecting its production are poorly understood. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify factors contributing to mola productivity in polyculture systems. A total 177 farms in three sub-districts of Barisal district, Bangladesh, were surveyed. Production of carp was higher (P < 0.05) in demo farms (3.42 ± 1.64 t ha 1) than non-demo farms (2.49 ± 1.46 t ha 1) and also differed significantly (P < 0.05) by sub-district. The productivity of mola ranged from 0.08 to 0.68 t ha 1 (mean; 0.26 ± 0.10 t ha 1). Mola yields differed significantly (P < 0.05) by sub-district, but no significant difference in yields was observed between demo (0.28 ± 0.10 t ha 1) and non-demo (0.25 ± 0.10 t ha 1) farms. Annual costs, gross income and net income were significantly different (P < 0.05) between demo and non-demo farms. A Cobb-Douglas production function model was used to identify which inputs affect fish yields. Stocking density, feed inputs, labor and pond depth were found to significantly affect total fish production, whereas mola production was significantly influenced by inputs of inorganic fertilizer, mustard oilcake, the number of months water was retained in the pond, labor and pond depth. A financial analysis showed the benefit-cost ratio of mola polyculture was higher than 1, indicating the investment efficiency of this technology for rural farmers. The study indicates that application of appropriate inputs could be considered to maximize production of mola in future projects attempting to promote its culture.

Statement of relevance

This paper assesses the productivity of vitamin A rich mola carplet, farmed in polyculture with carp in Bangladesh, and identifies factors contributing to mola carplet productivity to support the design of attempts to promote mola culture in future.

Introduction

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with > 159 million people, and high levels of poverty and food and nutrition insecurity (World Bank, WFP, and BBS, 2010). More than 31% people live below the national poverty line (BBS, 2010, ADB, 2016) and rates of malnutrition are among the highest in the world, with six million children estimated to be chronically undernourished (DHS, 2011, HKI and JPGSPH, 2016). Micronutrient deficiencies (insufficient intakes of vitamins and minerals) are widespread, and resulting in a range of negative health outcomes, such as stunted growth and hampered brain development and cognition in children (Thilsted and Wahab, 2014a). Vitamin A is a particularly important micronutrient, deficiencies of which are linked to diarrhea, measles infections, blindness and child mortality (Fiedler et al., 2016).

Fish originates from marine capture fisheries, inland capture fisheries and aquaculture and these sectors are extremely important to income and food supply in Bangladesh. The sector's indirect contribution to the national economy goes beyond its 4.4% share of GDP, as it provides about 60% of the total animal protein intake, and > 11% of people in the country depend directly or indirectly on the sector for their livelihoods (DoF, 2015). More than 900,000 households are involved in aquaculture, covering 777,071 ha of freshwater ponds and gher1 (DoF, 2015). The total fish production in the country in fiscal year 2013–2014 was 3.55 million t, of which 1.96 million t (55%) was produced by inland aquaculture (DoF, 2015). The main aquaculture systems in Bangladesh are semi-intensive and intensive pond based polyculture systems (Belton and Azad, 2012).

Pond aquaculture is dominated by carp species,2 which account for 54% of total farmed fish production, and striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), locally called pangas, and tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) which together accounts for a further 42% of total production. The remaining 4% consists mainly of other catfish species, climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and small fish (DoF, 2015). Many small fish species indigenous to Bangladesh (referred to as small indigenous species, or SIS) are known to contain particularly high levels of micronutrients including vitamin A, calcium, zinc, phosphorus and iron (Table 1). SIS traditionally provided the major share of animal protein and micronutrients consumed by poor rural households (Roos et al., 1999), but are now increasingly scarce and expensive due to the degradation of aquatic habitats and overexploitation of inland capture fisheries (Toufique and Belton, 2014). One species, the mola carplet, (Amblypharyngodon mola), locally called mola, has a higher vitamin A content than any other fish consumed in Bangladesh, and is many times richer in vitamin A than commonly farmed species such as carps and tilapia (Thilsted, 2012, Thilsted and Wahab, 2014b, Bogard et al., 2015, Fiedler et al., 2016). Regular consumption of mola thus has the potential to alleviate malnutrition problems in developing children (Thilsted and Wahab, 2014b, Bogard et al., 2015, Fiedler et al., 2016).

A number of experimental studies have been conducted on the polyculture of SIS with carp (Kohinoor et al., 1998, Rahman, 1999, Kohinoor, 2000, Wahab et al., 2003, Alim et al., 2004, Kohinoor et al., 2005, Kadir et al., 2007, Kunda et al., 2014, Roy et al., 2015). Research findings indicate that SIS, including mola, are suitable for pond polyculture with carps, and that the inclusions of these fishes in polyculture systems does not decrease carp production (Roos, 2001, Roos et al., 2003b, Roos et al., 2007). SIS breed freely in ponds under natural conditions, meaning that annual restocking of fingerlings is not necessary for perennial ponds (Afroze and Hossain, 1990, Hoque and Rahman, 2008). Thus, the integration of small fish with carp in pond polyculture may increase total fish production for both consumption and income purposes, with carp providing an income source for households and SIS contributing toward fulfilling nutritional requirements. Therefore, the Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Project (ANEP), funded by the European Union (EU) introduced this polyculture system to 790 farmers in 2013 to increase pond productivity and income, and to fulfill nutritional demand in Barisal district. Research described in this paper was conducted to assess the productivity of mola with carp in polyculture among farmers adopting the technology as part of the project, and to identify factors contributing to the productivity of mola and other fish stocked species, in order to support future efforts to promote mola culture.

Section snippets

Study area and farm interviews

Barisal district is located in the south-central region of Bangladesh, and contains a large number of ponds, reported as 68,686 by BBS (2011). Many of these ponds were originally constructed as borrow pits to raise the level of homesteads to avoid flooding and prepare gardens to grow fruit, or to build roads. In these ponds farmers practice extensive3

Farm characteristics

A total of 177 farms were surveyed from three sub-districts. Pond size and water surface area were not significantly different between demo and non-demo farms, and varied from 0.04 to 0.24 ha and 0.03 to 0.18 ha, respectively (Table 3). Similar pond size and water surface area were reported by WorldFish Center (2008) for the coastal region of Bangladesh, by Hossain et al. (2010) for ponds belonging to members of Adivasi communities in northern Bangladesh, and by Belton et al. (2011) and Jahan et

Conclusions

The development of sustainable aquaculture among rural households with limited resources in south-central Bangladesh remains a challenge. The Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Project disseminated improved aquaculture technologies and strengthened linkages between farmers and market actors to increase fish production and fulfill the nutritional requirements of producer households. Gross income, net income and BCR for all demo and non-demo farms were positive. Demo farms, which were monitored

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to European Union (EU) funded Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Project (ANEP, Grant no.: DCI-FOOD/2011/261-122) for funding this research. This research paper is a contribution to the CGIAR research program on Livestock and Fish. The authors of the manuscript express their gratitude to Dr. Roel H. Bosma, Wageningen University, The Netherlands and Christopher Brown, Science leader, WorldFish, Bangladesh and South Asia office for their constructive suggestions and

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