While studying the impact of climate change on rural livelihoods, JustJobs Network conducted a focused group discussion in Munshiganj, one of the 12 wards under Shyamnagar Upazila in Satkhira district, Bangladesh.
Coastal communities in southern Bangladesh are on the front lines of climate change today. Sea level rise and cyclones have led to the intrusion of salt water and contamination of agricultural land in a number of districts such as Satkhira and Khulna. This has led to interesting changes in livelihood patterns in the area, with many farmers now raising shrimp on farmland.
More than 10 million people in Bangladesh are exposed to sea-level rise, their lives and livelihoods at varying degrees of risk. The 25,000 families in Munshiganj ward -- mostly dependent on rice cultivation -- are among those that have experienced a direct threat. In the wake of Cyclone Sidr and Cyclone Aila in years 2007 and 2009 respectively, crop production was severely hit and many farmers changed their occupation or migrated to cities.
Close to a decade after the two major disasters, farmers of the sub-division are still coping with the loss and damage. Access to safe drinking water is the most immediate problem, with many sources of freshwater now rendered unusable. Diseases like diarrheoa and dysentery are common among families resident in the area. Salinity ingress – as it is called - has also created problems for irrigation in the dry (“boro”) season.
The response to climate change in this region has been given much needed foresight by the scientific community. Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, which is supported by the International Rice Research Institute, has been prompt to deliver new varieties of seeds that have higher saline tolerance. However, considering farmers in the region have been using high-yielding varieties of rice for at least three decades, retaining their level of productivity while producing salt resistant seeds remains a challenge.
In the worst hit areas, farmers have constructed fencing (“gher”) around their land and actually collected saline water in which they now raise sea fish like shrimp. Although a commercially viable livelihood, shrimp cultivation requires high capital investments, and costs of production can be prohibitive. Some farmers have taken loans to enter the business, and then gone bankrupt in the unfortunate case of their shrimp being affected by viruses. Increasing temperature, farmers say, have created better conditions for viruses to thrive.
“I did no go to the government for finances, and loaned money from the community instead. So when I suffered losses in the shrimp business, it took me a long time to recover,” says Jahangir Alam, a farmer in Munshiganj who owns 2.8 acres (7 bighas) of land.
The high cost of shrimping is also causing dispossession. “In many villages, larger players such as non-resident Bangladeshis have acquired tracts of land from loss-making farmers who now work as employees on these shrimp farms,” says Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD).
Another negative side-effect of the proliferation of shrimp farms on agricultural land is salinity ingress in surrounding rice fields. Members of the community are yet to reach a consensus on water management issues, and conflicts often take place when saline water from shrimp farms enters rice fields in the absence of proper drainage mechanisms.
Those that have successfully invested in the shrimp business are yielding high returns. In late July, a kilo of “bagda” (brackish water) shrimp was going for Tk1400 ($18) at a Dhaka market. This revenue is comparable to the value of shrimp in developed markets, where it is even expected that shrinking supply from major producers -- Canada, Thailand and Vietnam -- will push up prices.
With access to better preservation and packaging facilities locally, many families of the Khulna division could jump on to the shrimp bandwagon. A stronger certification regime that rids the system of adulterers and middlemen can also ensure that these communities find success in the harsh circumstances imposed upon them by climate change.
Bangladesh is a part of the world where resilience to worsening weather conditions is a way of life. The people of Khulna division have come a long way since the disasters of 2007 and 2009. With a little more investment in capturing larger parts of the value chains associated with their produce and careful monitoring of soil quality, there is reason to believe this community can adapt to climate change.
Jit Shankar Banerjee is a researcher at JustJobs Network, a global research institute focusing on strategies to create more and better employment. In coming weeks, JustJobs will release a report and a documentary film on climate change and livelihoods in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
