| Pub. Date | : Dec, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Entrepreneurship Development |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJED21812 |
| Author Name | : Prabal Barua and Jewel Das |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management Studies |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 20 |
The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), locally known as 'Golda', plays an important role in the economy of Bangladesh in earning valuable foreign exchange, generating employment and raising protein food production. The present study aims to assess the major barriers to freshwater prawn culture entrepreneurship in South-Eastern Bangladesh. A combination of participatory methods, including transect walks, focus group discussions and trend analysis, was used on prawn farmers and associated groups to assess prawn culture opportunities and its challenges for sustainable development. The results show that around 55,000 ha area of ponds is suitable for prawn farming with fish production in this region. Despite the great potentiality of prawn farming, lack of technical knowledge on pond management, prevalence of prawn disease, and unavailability of credit along with 14 barriers have been identified as the potential obstruction to freshwater prawn farming entrepreneurship. The findings also show that education of fish farmers, income from prawn culture, availability of information sources and knowledge on pond fish culture have significant negative relationship, while age and family size of fish farmers have positive significant relationship with the barriers to prawn culture entrepreneurship.
In the recent past, it has been observed that sustainable development in aquaculture sector can be achieved by adopting eco-friendly aquaculture practices to minimize the impact on the surrounding environment. The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) can be easily cultivated in short cycles in areas where water does not remain all-year round. It requires some investment to buy the post-larvae/juveniles, but a low external input method brings high income in a few months without hampering other household activities. Bangladesh is one of the most suitable countries in the world for freshwater prawn farming, because of its favorable resources and agro-climatic conditions. The expansion of M. rosenbergii farming depends on availability of prawn fry, the supply of which is currently the main bottleneck for further expansion of prawn culture.