RICE-FISH SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH

Fish in the Net, Bangladesh: Source- Flickr: IFPRI-IMAGES

Food security discourse in Bangladesh is inextricably linked to both rice and fish, and captured in the popular saying “Mache bhate Bangali,” or “Rice and fish make a Bengali.” But changes in Bangladesh’s rice-fish production systems over the past several decades may be transforming the way farmers manage rice and fish production. Too little is known about these changes and their potential impact on livelihoods and welfare.

Part of the problem is that past research on rice-fish systems in Bangladesh has focused mainly on biophysical and technical aspects, thus overlooking the intricate social, economic, and policy dimensions of rice-fish system improvement. The discussion paper on Change and Diversity in Small-holder Rice Fish Systems explores these issues in depth with a novel combination of primary and secondary data collected in 2010-11. The paper analyzes the potential contribution of improvement in concurrent rice-fish systems, alternating systems, and collectively managed alternating systems to rural livelihoods, and suggests several policy and investment solutions for the immediate future. Key recommendations include the need for greater investment in research around sustainable rice-fish systems development, better enforcement of seed and feed quality, and urgent improvement in market infrastructure.