Homestead ponds playing big role in improving nutritional intake: Research
Badrun Nessa herself conducted the study
Increasing commercial and non-commercial fish farming in homestead ponds across the country is significantly improving people's nutritional intake, finds a research of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
Families that own such ponds can eat more fish on the one hand and can spend the money earned by selling surplus fish for buying other nutritious foods, said BIDS Research Fellow Dr Badrun Nessa Ahmed, while presenting the research paper entitled "The Role of Homestead Fish Ponds for Household Nutrition Security in Bangladesh" at a seminar organised by BIDS on Thursday.
Badrun Nessa herself conducted the study.
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According to the research paper, fish farming in homestead ponds is increasing the nutritional security of people. If someone has additional fish to sell in their ponds after meeting their family's demand, then their earnings from fish sales are spent on pulses, eggs, meat and other fish.
Those whose income from fish farming is increasing are spending more on food and calorie intake. A 10% increase in aquaculture income contributes to 1.5% increase in food consumption and 1.2% increase in calorie consumption, finds the research.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the amount of fish production in the 2020-21 fiscal year was 43 lakh tonnes. About 70% of it came from aquaculture. On the other hand about 43% of fish produced through aquaculture came from homestead ponds.
Because the BIDS study was done in 2016, many of the experts who addressed the Thursday seminar questioned its relevance in the current context. In response, the researcher said the study needs to be conducted again.
Dr Badrun Nessa said many people cultivate vegetables around the ponds and plant different trees. On the other hand, many ponds are submerged during flooding and fish is produced there naturally.
Referring to the significant contribution of homestead ponds in meeting the demand for nutrition, the researcher stressed on giving more importance to fish farming in such ponds.
