Commercial Aqua Feed Farm in Bangladesh Introduction: Fisheries play an important role in the national economy contributes 3.74% GDP and 3.00% to foreign exchange earnings through export (JMSS. 2011). Fish provide about 60% of dietary protein requirements of the country (JMSS. 2011). Fish consumption is only 16.62 kg per capita per year, whereas the requirement is about 1K kg (DoF, 2008). Fisheries support livelihood to about 10% or 1.45 million people of the country directly or indirectly (JMSS. 2011). The country has abundant water resources with 1.5 million ha of perennial and 2.8 million ha of seasonal inland waters, in addition to a coastline of 480 km. There are approximately 1.3 million freshwater ponds covering a total area of about 150,000 ha, out of which nearly 46% are under culture, 30% are culturable and 25% are derelict (F.R.S.S. 1987). At present fish production from these ponds is low, at 600-800 kg/ha/yr. The average fish production was 1,175 kg/ha for cultured ponds, 300 kg/ha for culturable and 175 kg/ha for derelict ponds. The country has 5,000 ha of oxbow lakes (baors) which also contribute to aquaculture production. There are about 2.5 million ha of coastal lands, large parts of which are suitable for shrimp farming. Coastal aquaculture of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) has been identified by the government as a priority area. Shrimp farming in “beries”, “ghers” or “ghonas” (i.e. areas
Transcript
Commercial Aqua Feed Farm in Bangladesh
Introduction:
Fisheries play an important role in the national economy contributes 3.74% GDP and 3.00% to foreign exchange earnings through export (JMSS. 2011). Fish provide about 60% of dietary protein requirements of the country (JMSS. 2011). Fish consumption is only 16.62 kg per capita per year, whereas the requirement is about 1K kg (DoF, 2008). Fisheries support livelihood to about 10% or 1.45 million people of the country directly or indirectly (JMSS. 2011).
The country has abundant water resources with 1.5 million ha of perennial and 2.8 million ha of seasonal inland waters, in addition to a coastline of 480 km. There are approximately 1.3 million freshwater ponds covering a total area of about 150,000 ha, out of which nearly 46% are under culture, 30% are culturable and 25% are derelict (F.R.S.S. 1987). At present fish production from these ponds is low, at 600-800 kg/ha/yr. The average fish production was 1,175 kg/ha for cultured ponds, 300 kg/ha for culturable and 175 kg/ha for derelict ponds. The country has 5,000 ha of oxbow lakes (baors) which also contribute to aquaculture production.
There are about 2.5 million ha of coastal lands, large parts of which are suitable for shrimp farming. Coastal aquaculture of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) has been identified by the government as a priority area. Shrimp farming in “beries”, “ghers” or “ghonas” (i.e. areas impounded by dikes) of the coastal area is an old traditional practice.
List of Farms in Bangladesh:
There are some commercial feed industries in our country. They commercially produce aqua feed according to the demand of the aqua farm. Some of them are given below
Saudi-Bangla Fish Feed Factory Bijoy Agro Feed & Fisheries Ltd. ACI Godrej Agrovet Limited :- Bangladesh Giti Bd Limited, Chittagong. Green Connection International, Chittagong. Amk Apparels Ltd, Chittagong. Unicorn Energy Services, Dhaka Era Agrovet, Dhaka Expo Bangla, Chittagong
Use of formulated feeds for fish farming is increasing in Bangladesh, associated with growth and intensification and commercialization of aquaculture. It seems that commercial pelleted feeds are starting to replace ‘farm-made’ and ‘raw’ unformulated feeds.
The production of commercial feeds has increased at an average rate of 32% per year over the period 2008–2012, and has reached an estimated total of almost 1.07 million tons in 2012. Sinking feeds, which accounted for 81% of total manufactured output, still dominate over extruded floating feed (19%), but growth in the production of floating fish feed has been fastest, averaging 89% over the last four years. Three types of floating feeds are available: oil coated, nonoil-coated, and vegetable protein based. Non-oil coated feeds account for 95% of total sales. Feed prices increased at a rate of between 9 and 15% per year from 2008 to 2012, due to increases in the price of major raw materials and unavailability. The retail price of 3–4 mm grower feed is currently 35–42 BDT/kg for sinking pellet feed, and 48–54 BDT/kg for extruded floating feed, depending on the species. Using least square demand forecasting and Delphi methods, total feed production is projected to increase to nearly 1.8 million tons in 2015.
Figure: Actual and projected aqua feed production (2008–2015).
These feeds can be stored in buildings and barns or in the open air, covered with canvas or plastic foil. Apart from manual collection, a shoveling machine or screw feeder can be used. The latter is of a higher capacity, being 40-60 t/h.
Bulk raw materials or ready-made feed can be stored in silo systems made of concrete or insulated metal plate. Polyurethane foam is inserted between two metal plates, or a prefabricated 'sandwich' panel is used.
Blowing ventilators are used for the ventilation of modern storing silos, which- not only cools the stored material but also decrease the moisture content.
Cereals can be stored at 20°C for 2-3 weeks; 15°C for 4-5 weeks; and at 10°C for 10 weeks without any deterioration in quality.
The bottom of these silos can he flat, or of conical form. Emptying of smaller, 20-80 m3
silos with conic bottoms is achieved by gravitation, while for larger silos by using built-in pulleys.
Manufacturing process:
The formulae of farm-made feeds, used by farmers or researchers for various cultivated species, are diverse. Some farmers use only rice bran for both carp nurseries and grow-out ponds. Some also use rice bran for tilapia and silver barb culture. Sometimes substitution of wheat bran for rice bran is tried by scientists and farmers for tilapia and silver barb culture and also for carp nursery operations. Some carp nursery operators use only mustard oil cake or sesame oil cake, soaking it with water for several hours before spreading it over the pond surface.
Other carp nursery operators formulate feeds with various proportions of mustard oil cake and rice bran, ranging from 40:60 to 60:40, in a dry, nonpelleted form. Sometimes sesame oil cake and wheat bran are substituted. Scientists using a carp nursery feed composed of rice bran (50%), mustard oil cake (25%) and fish meal (25%) got higher survival and better growth than with farmers feeds (Haque and Hossain 1991). Another carp nursery feed formulated of silk-worm pupae (25%), sesame oil cake (50%), wheat bran (21%), vitamin/ mineral premix (1%) and molasses (3%) when fed to rohu (Labeo rohita) fry was found to promote higher growth and survival (Zaher et al. 1992).
Figure: Improved formulated carp nursery feed with 30% protein content (50.0% mustard oil cake, 24.9% rice bran, 21.1% fish meal, 3.0% molasses and 1.0% vitamin premix)
In carp polyculture farmers use a mixture of rice bran (50%-80%) with mustard oil cake or sesame oil cake (20-50%). The hand-made feed is usually formed into wet, non-pelleted balls (Figure 5) but sometimes it is prepared as a dry, non-pelleted mixture. Most fish farmers feed their broodstock with a supplementary feed comprising of 50% rice bran or wheat bran, 45% mustard oil cake and 5% fish meal (Islam 1989).
Figure: Traditional farm-made feed mixture (75% rice bran and 25% mustard oil cake) for carp polyculture.
In catfish (Clarias batrachus, Clarias gariepinus, Ompok pabda, Mystus tengra) nurseries, live feeds, such as Tubifex and sometimes zooplankton are used. For catfish grow-out some farmers use a mixture of 40% fish meal, 40% mustard oil cake and 20% rice bran in non-pelleted moist form.
Farm-made shrimp feeds with 60% animal viscera, 20% rice bran and 20% wheat flour, or with 40% fish meal, 35% rice bran and 25% wheat flour are fed moist, or sun-dried, stored and used later (Karim 1986).
Farmers do not use any equipment to prepare feed, they are made by hand. Locally made sieves are used to sift the ingredients. On the other hand scientists use a mixer and mincer.
Figure. Preparation of improved formulated feed for carp polyculture (20% protein content)
Figure: Feed value chain in Bangladesh.
Marketing System:
Large feed companies partner with around 450–500 dealers, medium-sized companies work with 200– 300, and mills with only regional coverage typically work with 20–100. Some dealers work exclusively for a single company, but most sell feed from several. Most companies provide credit to feed dealers, but small feed companies provide comparatively more credit than larger ones.
Farmers may also receive feed on credit from dealers, and the total quantity of credit extended from dealers to farmers is much higher than the amount received by dealers from feed manufacturers. When dealers extend credit to their customers they typically
add an extra 1–3% to the retail price, depending on the duration over which the credit is extended and the characteristics of the customer.
Use of commercial pelleted feed is now very common among farmers practicing commercial fish farming, with feed costs commonly accounting for 70–75% of farm operating costs. Farmers commonly feed their fish twice daily by broadcast feeding, but feed requirements are rarely measured properly (according to body weight) through timely sampling. Floating feed users are better able to measure feed requirements through observation of fish behavior, and feeding to satiation. Feed conversion ratios (FCRs) for floating pelleted feed are comparatively lower than for sinking pellet feed: approximately 1.5 vs. 1.85 for tilapia and 1.6 vs. 2.0 for pangas, though both could be improved by reducing wastage.
Others:
Some pictures of Saudi-Bangla Fish Feed Factory is given below
Conclusion:
The growth of both commercial aquaculture and commercial fish feed production in Bangladesh over the past 10 years has been significant, and there is considerable room for further expansion of both sectors over the medium to long term, given a growing population with rising incomes and strong cultural preferences for fish consumption. This represents a major strength and opportunity for the feed sector. However, the industry is also confronted by a number of weaknesses and threats. These include the volatile political situation, lack of knowledge on raw material quality, feed formulation, machine operation and selection, a high dependency on imported raw materials, limited implementation of legislation on feeds, and ongoing market consolidation likely to reduce competitiveness in the long run.
Reference:
Ahsanullah, M. 1989. Fisheries extension and credit in Bangladesh, p 84-92. In Proceedings of the SAARC Workshop on Fish Seed Production, 11-12 June 1989. Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
Anon, 1986. p.21-49. In Nutritive values of local feedstuffs. Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A.O.A.C. 1965. Official methods of analysis. Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, 10th ed., Washington D.C., USA. 957 p.
F.F.R.S. 1987. Fish catch statistics of Bangladesh (1984-85). Fisheries Resources Survey System, Department of Fisheries, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 13 p.
F.R.I. 1989. Survey of potential fish feed ingredients of Bangladesh on the basis of their availability and biochemical composition. Research Project Report No.1; Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. 70 p.
G.O.B. 1986. The Third Five Year Plan, Government of Bangladesh, 1986-1990. Chapter V.C. Fisheries. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 11 p.
G.O.B. 1991. The Fourth Five Year Plan, Government of Bangladesh, 1991-95. Chapter V.C. Fisheries. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 13 p.
Haque, M.Z. and M.M. Hossain. 1191. Progress Report on the development of nursery pond management methods for optimizing production of fry/fingerlings of carps. Manu- script. Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. 15 p.
Islam M.A. 1989. Fish seed productionin Bangladesh, p 1-12 In Proceedings of the SAARC Workshop on Fish Seed Production, Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, 11-12 June
Karim,M. 1986. Brackishwater shrimp culture demonstration in Bangladesh, BOBP/REP/ 5, FAO/SIDA,Madras, India. 44 p.
Mahmood, N. 1990. Potential and strategies for brackishwater aquaculture development in Bangladesh. Paper presented at the National Workshop on Aquaculture Strategies in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Mahmood, N. and M.R. Chowdhury. 1989. An overview of shrimp fishery of Bangladesh. Biological aspects. Paper presented at the Workshop on the Environmental Aspects of Agricultural Development and Surface Water Systems. Organized by the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies at the BARC Auditorium, Dhaka, 8-9 November, 1989. Manuscript.
Mazid, M.A. 1992.Aquaculture development in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Observer, Dhaka. 25 September,1992.
New, M.B. 1987. Feed and feeding of fish and shrimp. ADCP/REP/87/28. FAO. Rome, Italy. 275 p.
