Bus ine ss O pp or tu ni tie s and C hall en ges i n Co st al Regi on s of Ba ng la de sh Dr. Md. Shariful Islam & Dr. Md. Akter Hossain2
1. I ntr oduction In Bangladesh, costal regions constitutes 2.85 million hectares of land. It extends inside up to 100 km from the coast. It includes tidal, estuaries and river floodplains in the south along the Bay of Bengal. In coastal regions, about 0.83 millions hectares are cultivable lands. These lands are affected with varying degrees of soil salinity. Agricultural land use and crop production in these area are very low. The region is more vulnerable to natural disasters and some are distinctive to the coast like cyclone, tidal surge, drainage conjecction and land erosion. This situation may aggravate further under a climate change scenario. Costal areas of Bangladesh have received very little attention in the past. But, from post SIDOR period, the area is receiving much attention for development among governments institutes, policy makers, and donors. Thus, it has become increasingly important to explore the opportunities of increasing the potential of these regions for increased production of crops.
2. C ostal Ec osystem 2.1 Delin eation of Costal R eg ion The costal region includes intertidal and subtidal areas above continental shelves and adjacent land area up to 100 Km inland from coast. The zone extends over 19 districts and 151 upazillas facing the Bay of Bengal (Fig. 1). About half of the districts are vulnerable to multiple risks of cyclone, tidal surge and salinity. About 2.85 milliom ha. of costal region constitutes 32% of total land area of the country.
2.2 Hy drol ogy The most significant feature of hydrology in relation to agricultural development is the seasonal shallow flooding (up to 90 cm) that take place in about 70% of the total area. In these areas, flood water recedes from October to late December. Depth and duration of flooding affect normal crop production in varying intensities. The surface drainage system is mainly operational through intricate network of creeks, channels and rivers.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ 1
Business Manager, ACI Seed,
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2
Product Development Manager, ACI Seed
Fig ur e:1 Agr o Ecological
Z ones in the coastal
regio ns of Banglade sh
Forestry, 1.79 Livestock, 2.93
Crops, 12.19
Fishery, 4.86
Figure 2. Contribution of agricultural sub sectors to GDP at constant prices, 05'-06
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2.3 Liv el ihood of Costal P eo ple According to Census of 2001, the coastal zone accommodates 38.5 million people and it comprises 32% of the total land holding 31% of the national population. Surprisingly, the census data between 1901 and 2001 indicates that the proportion of the people living in the coastal regions has consistently been static to about 30% of the national populations. Agriculture livelihood includes crops, fisheries, livestock and forestry. The contribution of agriculture in GDP was 21.77 in 2005-06 (Fig. 2) and decreasing every year. This sector, however, still employs about 52% of the labour forces.
3. A gr icultur al Dev elo pmen t C onstr ain ts Various physical, chemical and social factors limit agricultural development of this region (Haque, 2006). Soil salinity is the most dominant one, especially during dry season. Coastal saline soils occur in the river deltas along the sea coast, a few kilometers to 180 kilometers from the coast. About 70% land (1.02 million hectares) in the coastal areas is affected by varying degree of soil salinity. About 0.282, 0.297, 0.191, 0.145 and 0.087 million ha of land are affected by very slight, slight, moderate, strong and very strong salinity, respectively (Table 1). Table 1 . Sali nit y af fected ar eas in the coastal Banglades h
Land Cla ssi fication Very Slight Slight Moderate Strong Very Strong
Sa lin it y(dS /m ) 2.0-4.0 4.0-8.0 8.0-12.0 12.0-16.0 > 16.0 Total
and of fsho re regio ns of
Total Sal ine Land (000 ha ) 282.0 297.0 191.0 145.0 87.0 10 02. 0
Total Cu ltiv abl e Land (000 ha) 425.5 420.4 257.2 198.9 157.0 14 59. 0
Source: SRDI-2003
Salinity varies considerably by seasons. In dry season, soil and river water salinity increases, while in monsoon, it goes down. Therefore, land use has also temporal and spatial variation with season. In addition to salinity, coastal regions are quite low in soil fertility and affect plant growth. Perennial water logging occurs in the western coastal region in the Khulna and Jessore districts and in the Southern part of Noakhali and Lakshmipur districts. Localized water logging occurs throughout the coastal belt. Inundation regimes, duration, and temporal
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variations vary, but all congestions affect coastal livelihood because of crop damage, waterborne diseases and other health related issues. Most commonly affected districts are Barguna, Bhola, Potaikhali and Pirojpur (PDO-ICZMP, 2004). Scarcity of quality irrigation water during dry season limits cultivation of boro rice and rabi (winter) crops, and aus cultivation during kharif-1 (March-July) season. Variability of rainfall, uncertain dates of onset and recession of seasonal floods and risk of drought restrict cultivation of aus and aman rice. Uncertain rainfall delays sowing /transplanting and flood damages aus and aman crops. Heavy monsoon rainfall causes delay in transplanting of aman and sometimes flash floods washes away the standing crop. Narrow genetic and technological bases for salt tolerance limit crop choices for production. On the other hand, due to extensive cultivation of a particular cultivar of crop year after year makes the crop susceptible to pest and diseases attack. Pest and diseases like hispa, leafhopper and tungro virus are prevalent in the region and cause extensive damages almost every year. In the coastal saline belt with short winter season timely sowing/planting of rabi (winter) crops is essential but this is restricted by late harvest of aman rice. A considerable area of the coast is within the polders of different types. Soil salinity levels have not decreased considerably within the poldered areas. This seriously constrained the adoption of HYV aman and HYV aus in these areas. The texture of most of the saline soils varies silt clay to clay. Land preparation becomes very difficult as the soil dries out. Deep and wide cracks develop and surface soil becomes very hard. These also necessitate deep and rapid tillage operations. Lack of appropriate extension programs for diffusion of modern technologies. Extension personal trained in saline soil management in also inadequate. This lacking retard adoption of HYV technologies. Big land ownership and unfavorable land tenure system and dominance of absentee farmers discourage adoption of modern technologies. The above factors are more or less common to most of the coastal areas. Often heavy monsoon rainfall, severe flash flood and exposure to cyclones with saline cyclonic storm surges exacerbate the problems of salinity in the coastal-belt.
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4. Economic Act ivit ies in Coastal Regions 4.1 Cr oppi ng Pat tern Rice is the dominant crop in the cropping pattern of the region. Major cropping pattern of the coastal region is given in Table 2. Table 2 Major cr opping pat tern of the coastal Sl. N o. Rab i Boro Fallow Fallow
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
regio n of B anglades h
Cro pp ing P att ern Kh arif -1 Fallow T. Aus Dibbling Aus,B. Aus, jute, sunhemp, till
Fallow Boro Fallow Relay Felon Relay Felon Relay kheshari, relay mustard, mung, til, chili, potato, sweet potato, lentil Relay kheshari, mung, chilli, potato, sweet potato, lentil, chickpea, maize, Potato, sweet potato, chilli, spinach, stem amaranth, pumpkin, okra,brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, watermelon
Kh arif -2 Fallow T. Aman T. Aman
Fallow Fallow Dibbling Aus Fallow Fallow Fallow
Fallow T. Aman T. Aman T. Aman T. Aman T. Aman
Aus, jute, sun hemp, till
T. Aman
Fallow
T. Aman
Source: BARC, 2008
Transplanted Aman, Broadcasted Aus and Aman rice, sesame, jute are the major crops in the region. Recently, farmers are growing more HYV/local boro rice. Winter vegetables, pulses and oils, banana and sugarcane are also grown in this region (Table 3 and Table 4)
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Table 3 . Sali nit y based seaso n wise cr ops in som e coastal di stricts of Banglades h Distr ict s
Non sa lin e C rop s ( <2 .0 dS /m ) Rab i Kh ar if -1 Kh ar if -2 Till, Okra T-Aman Mung, chilli, sweet (HYV/LIV) potato, felon, radish, watermelon,mustard red amaranth, Khesari, sugarcane, groundnut
Sa lin e C rop s ( 2-8 dS /m) Kh arif -1 Rab i Kh ar if -2 Till, T-Aman Mung, chilli, sweet Okra (HYV/LIV) potato, felon, radish, watermelon, Khesari, groundnut
Rem arks
Bag er ha t
Boro (HYV/LYV) snake gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, water melon, okra, chilli, ,tomato, potato, brinjal mustard, sugarcane Indian spinach
Broadcasti ng Aman, Jute (Deshi/ Tosha), stem amaranth
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
Patu ak hal i
Boro(HYV/LYV) Mung, Chilli, Sweet potato, potato, pumpkin, felon, watermelon, red amaranth, mustard, Kheshari Boro (HYV/LYV) Bottle gourd, mung Chilli, felon, water melon, melon, okra, mustard
T-Aus, Till, Okra
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
T-Aus, Jute (Deshi/ Tosha) Maize, stem amaranth T-Aus, Jute (Deshi/ Tosha) Maize T-Aus, maize, Indian spinach
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
Boro(HYV/LIV) Sweet potato water melon, okra, chilli, pumpkin, ,tomato, Potato, mustard, sugarcane, spinach, bottle gourd, sponge gourd Boro(HYV/LIV) Mung, Chilli, Sweet potato, potato, pumpkin, felon, water melon, red amaranth, mustard, Kangkong Mung Chili, felon, water melon, melon, okra, mustard, sweet potato
T-Aus, Jute (Deshi/ Tosha) stem amaranth, Indian spinach
Bar gu na
Piro jp ur
Ba ris al
Bhola
Jh alok at i
Boro (HYV/LYV) Bottle gourd, mung Chili, felon, water melon, melon, okra, mustard Boro (HYV/LYV) wheat, mustard, mung, chili, sweet poatao, poatao, felon, water melon, melon, okra, brinjal, cabbage Boro (HYV/LYV) mustard, mung, Chilli, felon, watermelon, melon, okra, pumpkin, sweet potato
T-Aman (HYV/LIV
Mung, Chilli, sweet potato, felon, water melon, melon, okra, Indian spinach
T-Aman (HYV/LIV
Mung, chilli, sweet potato, felon, watermelon, okra, Indian spinach, ground nut
T-Aman (HYV/LIV
Boro (HYV/LIV) mustard, mung, Chilli, felon, water melon, melon, okra, pumpkin, sweet potato
--
Til
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
Beetle leaf, Year around for non saline area
T-Aus, Aus (dibling), Till, okra, Indian spinach
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
--
T-Aus, Till,
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
--
T-Aus, Til
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
Beetle leaf Year around for non saline area
T-Aus, Till, Aus (Dibling)
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
--
T-Aus, Till
T-Aman (HYV/LIV)
--
Source: BARC, 2008
Table 4. Year round Banglades h
hom estead
Rab i Tomato, radish, bottle gourd, bean, brinjal, red amaranth, spinach, pumpkin, and okra
vegetable s cr ops in the coastal
Kh arif -1 Indian spinach, red amaranth, stem amaranth, okra, sponge gourd, snake gourd, wax gourd, pumpkin, long yard bean ridge gourd, batishak and spinach
Source: BARC, 2008
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ar eas of
Kha rif -2 Okra, amaranth, Indian spinach, batishak and spinach
4.2
HYV Cr ops Cu ltiv atio n
The coastal farmers are growing local rice cultivars under rainfed condition from the time immemorial. Recently, as far low yield of local varieties, farmers are increasing growing HYV rice particularly in Aman and Boro seasons. In 2005, the ratio of Local : HYV for aman was 1:1.02 and for boro is 1.00:7.52 (Table 5). Further, out of the total area under each crop, the selective coverage of wheat, potato, jute, cotton and sugarcane are 8.65%, 13.82%, 15.73%, 2.40% and 7.97% respectively. Farmers are also using mostly HYV varieties in the most of those crops. The trend of using HYV varieties may be enhanced and sustained by supplying quality seed and ensuring supplementary irrigation facilities. Table 5. Loc al and Banglades h in 20 05
HYV co ver age
Cro p Seas on
Types of Variet ies
Aus
Local HYV Local HYV Local HYV ------
Aman Boro Wheat Potato Jute Cotton Sugarcane
in dif ferent
Area un der Cu lt iv ati on (h a) 829808 293956 2178574 855507 158787 1195351 77728 112209 173455 359 23437
cr ops
in coastal
Rati o Loc al :HYV 1.0:0.73 1.0:1.02 1.00:7.52 ------
ar eas
of
% Cov erage to t ot al are a ------8.65 13.82 15.73 2.40 7.97
Source: Singh et al., 2008
4.3 Hybrid rice and vegetables
pr oduct ion
In 19 coastal districts, hybrid rice and potato has an acreage of 0.1 million ha. in 2005 (Singh et al., 2008). Hybrid watermelon has also a good acreage in the area. Hybrid cabbage, cauliflower, tomato also grown in the field as well as in homestead garden (Table 6). Table 6 Hybrid rice and v egetables
Districts
Hybrid R ice
in some coastal district s of B anglades h
Vegetables
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Expa nsio ns
Barisal
--
Pirojpur
Heera
Jhalokati
Heera, Aloron
Bagerhat Bhola Barguna Patuakhali
Heera -Aloran, Jagoran, ACI --
Hybrid Watermelon, Cabbage, Cauliflower and Tomato Diamont, Cardinal and Hybrid water melon and vegetables Hybrid Watermelon and vegetables Diamont and cardinal Hybrid Watermelon -Hybrid Watermelon
There are good opportunities to expand by adding new hybrid/HYV varieties of these crops to the current cropping pattern.
Source: BARC, 2008
4.4 Fal low Land and it s Possib le Use Most of the costal regions are monocropped area. T. Aman is the main crop. Land use is high in this season. Seasonal flood, salinity, scarcity of irrigation water, poor drainage etc. limit present land use. According to the information of BARC, wh ile estimat ing fallow la nd and cr op pr oductio n pla n in sev en coastal
districts
in 20 08 , about 0.33,
0.51 and 0.06 million hectares land remain fallow in rabi, kharif-1 and kharif-2, respectively in these coastal districts (Table 7). Table 7. Cul tiv able and f allow land in sev en coastal distr icts of Banglade sh Dis tr ic ts
Barisal Patuakhal i Barguna Bhola Pirojpur Jhalokati Bagerhat Total
Total Cul tiv abl e la nd ( ha)
Rabi Lan d( ha )
%
Total Fallow L an d Kh ar if -1 La nd (ha ) %
Kha rif -2 Lan d ( ha)
%
186220 220000
56687 89980
30 41
104531 142700
57 65
25002 9410
13 4
104081 175662 88400 53571 134010 96 1944
53126 16544 47287 26384 41250 33 1258
51 09 53 48 31 34 .4 4
57638 94769 50396 24095 59150 53 3279
55 53 57 43 44 55 .44
1871 8832 2021 17500 6463 6
2 10 3 13 6.72
Source:BARC-2008
The working group of BARC (2008) has made a comprehensive study on the causes of remaining land fallow and suggested important short and long term measures to expand crop production in this fallow land (Table 8). Table 8. BARC suggested meas ur es and ex ec uti ng agency pr od uction i n fallow land in coastal ar eas of B anglades h Sl# 01 02
Sh ort Ter m measures Inclusion to suitable HYV instead of local varieties where possible Inclusion of one or more crops to the current cropping pattern
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to expand
Ex ecu tin g Age ncy DAE, BADC DAE
cr op
03 04 05 06 07
Strengthening on farm research activities to screen suitable varieties for these areas. Ensuring supply of agricultural machinery & equipments like power tiller, power pump, sprayer etc. Strengthening supply and marketing of quality seeds of improved as well as local varieties Medi um Ter m meas ures Breeding salt tolerant, water logging, tolerant, heat tolerant varieties in rice and vegetables. Production and supply of quality seeds of suitable local varieties
NARS institutes BADC, DAE, NGO & Co mp anies BADC, See d Co mp anies NARS institutes BADC, See d Co mp anies
Source: BARC-2008
Opp ortuni ties of the
Coastal Region
Coastal ecosystem would be more fragile due to the population pressure on the shrinking base of natural resources. Climate change would further make the ecosystem and livelihood more vulnerable. Therefore, the coastal region should get special attention for agricultural development. Crop production potentialities of the coastal area can be realized by intensifying cropping through desalinization, improved irrigation and drainage system and better soil and water management practices. Local Aman is growing extensively under rainfed conditions. Recently, farmers are growing more HYV in Aman and Boro season (Singh, et al., 2008) Aman rice is considered compatible crop in the area, but wheat barley, groundnut, mung, till etc. are more tolerant to saline. Growing modern varieties of rice, wheat and rabi vegetables irrigation should be applied. In case of scarcity of fresh water, limited irrigation with brackish water may be practices. Most of the salt affected land remains fallow during dry season due to lack of quality irrigation water. In a study of IRRI-FoSHoL project, it was observed that river water in saline areas remain suitable <4.0 dS/m) for irrigation rice from mid-June to mid- February. Boro rice can be irrigated by utilizing gravity flow of tidal water directly from the river during high tide from mid-November to mid-February and therefore, farmers do not need to spend money for irrigation. Before it become saline, river water can be conserved in natural canals at the beginning of February to irrigate rice from mid-February to end of March with a low lift pump. By adopting such innovative water management and cropping technique, BRRI Dhan 28 was successfully grown in Batiaghata upazila of Khulna district with an average yield of about 4.5 t/ha.
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BRRI Dhan 40 and BRRI Dhan 41 developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute can be growing during T. aman season. This variety is photoperiod sensitive and can withstand to 8 dS/m of salinity at seedling stage to panicle initiation stage. It can be grown in coastal areas to replace low yielding local varieties. The other important feature of this variety is that 30 to 50 days old seedling can be transplanted even with 25-30 cm (knee height) standing water. Through molecular breeding, IRRI, BRRI and Dhaka University jointly have made some progress in incorporation of Saltole gene in BR11 and BRRI Dhan28. Some lines already released as varieties e.g. BRRI Dhan 47 in Bangladesh which can withstand 12-14 dS/m at seedling stage and up to 6 dS/m for rest of the growing period. This variety is now gaining popularity among the farmers of the coastal belt as boro rice. Normally, a huge area in the coastal districts remains fallow. The coverage of pulse crop like mung bean varieties BARI 15 and BARI 16 can be extended during the rabi as well as Kharif1 season. As coastal ecosystem is much vulnerable, introduction of modern technologies and there forceful implementation without considering balanced remuneration return to farm outputs may affect our farmers. Our farmers, to their credit, have developed some innovative practices to face the problems with existing resources. To date on the other hand, researchers have conducted only modest and sporadic research designed to mitigate the problem of coastal areas. Therefore comprehensive and coordinated policy, plan and research works are required to explore the potentialities and opportunities of such a vulnerable area of Bangladesh (Recommendation, 1991).
Conc lusion Coastal regions of Bangladesh has some constraints, vulnerabilities, potentialities and opportunities in agricultural development. Agricultural land use in those areas is very poor. A vast quantity of land remain fallow. Land fertility and productivity are declining. Salinity hamper crop production. Natural disaster like SIDOR, making the current problems more vulnerable. Yet, there are many potentialities and possibilities of this area in crop production. Crop production can be intensity by cropping through desalinization, improved irrigation, drainage, soil and water management programme and practices. The problems of coastal area have received very little attention in the past. However, in recent years, the issues was become too pronounced to be ignored. It has become imperative to explore the opportunities of these areas for increased production of crops.
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Ref eren ces Haque, S A. (2006). Salinity Problems and Crop Production in Coastal Regions of Bangladesh. Department of Soil Sceince: Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymeshing, Bangladesh. Pak. J. Bot., 38 (5): 1359-1365. BARC, (2008) Estimation of Fallow land and Crop Production Plan in Seven Coastal Districts. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council. Farmgate, Dhaka, 22 May 2008. PDO-ICZMP (2004) Programme Development Office for Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan. Where land meats the Sea: A Profile of the Coastal Zone of Bangladesh Islam M. R (Ed). Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO). The University Press Limited. Recommendation (1991): The National Workshop on Risk management in Agriculture. Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, Dhaka. 24-27 August 1991. Singh, Gurbachan, Hussain, S. G, Sumanarathne, H Don, & Patghmanadan, K (2008). Livelihood Development through Agriculture in the Saline Prone Coastal Ecosystem of SAARC Countries, SAARC Agriculture Center. BARC Complex, Farmgate, New Airport Road, Dhaka-1215.
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