The livelihood impacts of fishponds integrated within farming systems in Mymensingh District, Bangladesh

Links between the pond and surrounding land for horticulture is a distinctive feature of farming households in Bangladesh. It was hypothesised that the role of fishponds in integrated aquaculture systems has potential towards improving livelihoods and poverty alleviation. Rural and peri-urban settlements in Mymensingh District, Bangladesh were selected for assessing the importance and role of pond-dike systems on the livelihoods of households of different socio-economic level. The study was carried out in view of the sustainable livelihood approaches of the Department for International Development, U.K. Participation of all levels of stakeholders was ensured in the first and last phase of the study. The combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis at community and household level was a major strength and challenge of the study, and was used to explore the potential of integrated farming and factors that undermine such potential to contribute to a sustainable livelihood. The research commenced with a comprehensive situation appraisal and baseline survey to explore the context and characterize farming systems, followed by a longitudinal household survey to understand the effect of seasons on livelihoods. Households with access to ponds were identified as active or passive integrators based on a simple set of criteria and their resources and livelihoods assessed in comparison with non-pond households. During the last phase of the study a farmer participatory research (FPR) trial, based on a priority issue identified during the 1st phase of the study, was launched to investigate the potential of the integrated systems. The situation appraisal conducted within four communities revealed the effects of gender, well-being and location on farmers' regular activities and food consumption patterns. Fish culture was equally important as an enterprise among richer and poorer men, whereas vegetable cultivation was more important to men than women but wealth and location also affected its importance. Lack of knowledge was a particular problem for farmers growing fish and vegetables in the rural areas. Fish disease, high price of input, lack of money were also identified as constraints by fish producers. The expected use and current use of ponds, problems and benefits associated with fish culture were also found to be affected by groups emphasising vegetable, orchard and fish culture within their systems. The role of the pond for family use, which was a major objective for pond construction, was found to be significantly different between rural and peri-urban areas. Fish culture is now the dominant use of ponds for households irrespective of their focus on vegetable, orchard or fish production and they are utilised less for general domestic use. Ponds are relatively more important as a source of irrigation water in rural than in peri-urban communities. Significant differences were observed between locations and well-being categories for the percentage of fish retained for consumption and that sell. Rice bran was the most commonly used pond input (80% of all pond households) but active integrated farmers applied rice bran more frequently than passive groups (91 compared to 63 times/season). ‘Ease of production’ was a major incentive for farmers to integrate fish and vegetable production and this opinion was related to household type i.e. active integrators were more aware and confident about the practice. The literacy levels of household heads, access to information and capital and contact with formal and informal institutions of active producers and the better-off households was significantly higher than other groups and poorer households respectively. It is revealed from the longitudinal households’ analysis that the consumption pattern in terms of food types and amount are linked with income, expenses and food availability in different well-being categories between seasons across locations. The empirical analysis showed that as active households’ income increased, expenditure on food purchases, agricultural labour, pond inputs and poultry per household also increased. However, on-farm contributions as a source of fish and vegetables were important during the lower income and least productive months. Performance of integrated farming systems varied by location. Resource base, accessibility to market and information played key roles in the development of integrated farming system in the study area. Active integrated households in peri-urban areas, in response to higher demand in the nearby market, produced significantly more fish and vegetables than those in the rural areas. The result showed clearly the need for due consideration of these factors while promoting IAA systems in Bangladesh. Farmer participatory research showed that production of fish could be increased by a substantial level through increasing pond nutrient inputs rather than stocking an additional species (tilapia), although this may be related to the ‘improved’ nutrition used by farmers still being well below the level required for optimal tilapia performance. Rural households benefited more than peri-urban through direct consumption of both fish and vegetables; in contrast peri-urban households benefited more through cash sales of both fish and vegetables than rural households. Higher production did not lead to increased consumption, rather households benefited financially through selling fish. Similar production levels of vegetables between groups followed different levels of fish culture practices suggesting that increased investment in fish production is complementary rather than competitive with associated vegetable production. It could be concluded that considerable potential exists for further integration and development of pond-dike systems, which could contribute towards improved livelihoods of both better off and worse off people

The impacts of integrated homestead pond-dike systems in relation to production, consumption and seasonality in central north Bangladesh

The roles of homestead ponds and surrounding dike production of vegetables on farms in peri-urban and rural communities in central north Bangladesh were assessed. A baseline survey sought to characterize actively managed (“active”) pond-dike systems, producing fish and vegetables, in terms of productivity and impact compared to less intensively integrated (“passive”) and control, no-pond households. A longitudinal survey was carried out over 12months to explore the relationship between seasonality and livelihood outcomes in relation to location and well-being status. Active homestead pond operators tended to have greater access to information and credit compared to passive and non-pond households; this was likely linked to their greater literacy and greater social connectedness. They enjoyed higher incomes through fish sales and consumed more fish than passive households, which was related to their higher production, in turn explained mainly by the use of more inputs. All active, 50% passive and 38% non-pond households were involved in vegetable cultivation; however, significantly more vegetables were produced by active households than others. The impacts of pond-dike production were more critical for food-vulnerable, rural households than peri-urban households prior to monsoon rice harvest; worse-off households suffered more prior to the “irrigated rice” harvest. Fish and vegetables raised on farm were most important during lower income months. The study supports the view that small homestead ponds can contribute to the wider food supply, and that such “quasi-peasant” forms of aquaculture contribute to reduced poverty and enhanced dietary diversity and food security in the broader population

Genotype-by-culture-system interaction in catla and silver carp: Monoculture and biculture

Catla (Catla catla) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are globally significant aquaculture species, primarily grown in polyculture. The objectives of the current study were to i) quantify genetic differences among founder populations (i.e. genetic groups) of family-based genetic improvement programs ii) estimate genetic parameters for harvest weight under different culture systems (i.e. monoculture and biculture) and iii) determine the extent of genotype-by-culture-system interaction – a component of genotype-by-environment-by-management interaction. Founder parents were spawned to generate 188 catla and 184 silver carp base-population full-sibling families. Families were grown out in eight earthen ponds – two monoculture catla, two monoculture silver carp and four biculture – and harvest body weight and survival analysed. Neither interaction (i.e. heterosis) nor main effects among genetic groups were statistically significant in any pond, trait or species. Additive genetic variances were significantly different from zero in all but one pond in each species. Narrow-sense heritability estimates for harvest weight ranged from 0.06 to 0.44 for catla and from 0.18 to 0.51 for silver carp. In contrast to catla, silver carp inter-pond genetic correlations were significantly different from one in multiple cases, indicating the presence of genotype-by-pond interactions. However, these interactions were not entirely explained by genotype-by-culture-system interaction, given the genetic correlation between the monoculture ponds was 0.56 (P = 0.038; from one). Additive variances were not statistically significant for survival in either species, with the exception of silver carp in one polyculture pond. Notably catla harvest weight in monoculture ponds was substantially greater than in biculture ponds, indicating the presence of inter-species competition in biculture ponds

Contribution Based Author Categorization to Calculate Author Performance Index

Despite the widely used author contribution criteria, unethical authorship practices such as guest, ghost, and honorary authorship remains largely unsolved. We have identified six major reasons by analyzing 78 published papers addressing unethical authorship practice. Those are lack of: (i) awareness about and (ii) compliance with authorship criteria, (iii) universal definition and scope for determining authorship, (iv) common mechanisms for positioning an author in the list, (v) quantitative measures of intellectual contribution; and (vi) pressure to publish. As a possible measure to control unethical practice, we have evaluated the possibility to adopt an author categorization scheme – proposed according to the common understanding of how first-, co-, principal-, or corresponding- author is perceived. Based on an online opinion survey, the proposed scheme was supported by ~80% of the respondents (n=370). The impact of the proposed categorization was then evaluated using a novel mathematical tool to measure “Author Performance Index (API)” that can be higher for those who might have authored more papers as primary and/or principal authors than those as coauthors. Hence, if adopted, the proposed author categorization scheme together with the API would provide a better way to evaluate the credit of an individual as a primary and principal author

Sustainable intensification of small-scale aquaculture production in Myanmar through diversification and better management practices

Small-scale aquaculture systems can contribute significantly to food and nutritional security, poverty alleviation, and rural development, especially in developing countries. However, the intensification of aquaculture systems often has negative environmental outcomes. The adoption of diversification practices (e.g. polyculture, pond-dike cropping (PDC)) and better management practices (BMPs) has been identified as a possible approach to intensify sustainably small-scale aquaculture production. This study assesses the sustainability outcomes of the adoption of diversification practices and BMPs in small-scale production models. We focus on Myanmar, a developing country characterized by a rapidly expanding small-scale aquaculture sector. We analyze 624 household surveys with small-scale aquaculture producers in central and northern Myanmar. We estimate the effects of diversification practices and BMPs on different sustainability outcomes, namely economic outcomes (i.e. aquaculture yield and benefit-cost ratio), environmental outcomes (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency), and food security outcomes (i.e. fish self-consumption and household dietary diversity) through linear mixed-effects models. Our results reveal that diversified production models (whether integrating or not integrating BMPs) could have significant positive effects on economic and food security outcomes, as well as phosphorus use efficiency, compared to 'unimproved monoculture'. However, such production models do not seem to have any major effect on nitrogen use efficiency. The adoption of BMPs on diversified production models seems to have little (if any) added effect on any of the studied sustainability outcomes, which suggests the need to improve existing BMPs or even develop new BMPs fit for Myanmar's context. These findings have implications about the possible contribution of diversification practices and BMPs for enabling sustainable intensification in small-scale aquaculture settings in Myanmar, and other rural developing contexts

A review of inclusive business models and their application in aquaculture development

For aquaculture to continue along its current growth trajectory and contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, value chains must become more inclusive. Smallholders and other local value chain actors are often constrained by circumstances and market failures in the global aquaculture industry. Integrating these actors into aquaculture value chains through inclusive business models (IBMs) is often touted as a solution to sustainable and ethical trade and business that can generate development outcomes. We reviewed 36 papers under seven business models commonly used in agriculture development to assess their application in aquaculture value chains in lower‐income countries. A global value chain (GVC) analysis is used to unpack the economic and social upgrading objectives of the different IBMs, as well as the types of relational coordination used between actors in the chain to achieve development outcomes. The extent to which these IBMs helped poor actors overcome certain barriers is evaluated with a focus on how they may ensure or be a risk to inclusiveness through the relations and upgrading opportunities evident in their make‐up. The analysis found that the majority of the models focused on economic upgrading over social upgrading. Providing opportunities for the latter is key to achieving the inclusive objectives of IBMs. Greater horizontal coordination between actors can create further opportunities for economic upgrading established under vertical coordination with other nodes upstream and downstream in a value chain. There is a need to further contextualize these models to aquaculture systems and develop clear indicators of inclusiveness

Maintaining Diversity of Integrated Rice and Fish Production Confers Adaptability of Food Systems to Global Change

Rice and fish are preferred foods, critical for healthy and nutritious diets, and provide the foundations of local and national economies across Asia. Although transformations, or "revolutions," in agriculture and aquaculture over the past half-century have primarily relied upon intensified monoculture to increase rice and fish production, agroecological approaches that support biodiversity and utilize natural processes are particularly relevant for achieving a transformation toward food systems with more inclusive, nutrition-sensitive, and ecologically sound outcomes. Rice and fish production are frequently integrated within the same physical, temporal, and social spaces, with substantial variation amongst the types of production practice and their extent. In Cambodia, rice field fisheries that strongly rely upon natural processes persist in up to 80% of rice farmland, whereas more input and infrastructure dependent rice-shrimp culture is expanding within the rice farmland of Vietnam. We demonstrate how a diverse suite of integrated production practices contribute to sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems policy, research, and practice. We first develop a typology of integrated production practices illustrating the nature and degree of: (a) fish stocking, (b) water management, (c) use of synthetic inputs, and (d) institutions that control access to fish. Second, we summarize recent research and innovations that have improved the performance of each type of practice. Third, we synthesize data on the prevalence, outcomes, and trajectories of these practices in four South and Southeast Asian countries that rely heavily on fish and rice for food and nutrition security. Focusing on changes since the food systems transformation brought about by the Green Revolution, we illustrate how integrated production practices continue to serve a variety of objectives to varying degrees: food and nutrition security, rural livelihood diversification and income improvement, and biodiversity conservation. Five shifts to support contemporary food system transformations [i.e., disaggregating (1) production practices and (2) objectives, (3) utilizing diverse metrics, (4) valuing emergent, place-based innovation, (5) building adaptive capacity] would accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2, specifically through ensuring ecosystem maintenance, sustainable food production, and resilient agricultural practices with the capacity to adapt to global change.This work was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) led by WorldFish with contribution from the CGIAR Research program on Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE) led by the International Water Management Institute. Both these programs are supported by contributors to the CGIAR Trust Fund. Additional funding support for this work was provided by the Australian Government and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research grant work was provided by the Australian Centre for International Research through the Development of Rice Fish Systems in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar (ACIAR project FIS/2016/135). The support through the United States Agency for International Development under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-L-14-00006 and KAES contribution number 20-317-J and grant number AID-442-IO12-00001 are duly acknowledged. Photo credits: Anon., Finn Thilsted, Anon., Anon., Todd Brown (Figure 1)

Metallothionein: A potential link in the regulation of zinc in nutritional immunity

Nutritional immunity describes mechanisms for withholding essential transition metals as well as directing the toxicity of these metals against infectious agents. Zinc is one of these transition elements that are essential for both humans and microbial pathogens. At the same time, Zn can be toxic both for man and microbes if its concentration is higher than the tolerance limit. Therefore a Bdelicate balance of Zn must be maintained to keep the immune cells surveilling while making the level of Zn either to starve or to intoxicate the pathogens. On the other hand, the invading pathogens will exploit the host Zn pool for its survival and replication. Apparently, different sets of protein in human and bacteria are involved to maintain their Zn need. Metallothionein (MT)—a group of low molecular weight proteins, is well known for its Zn-binding ability and is expected to play an important role in that Zn balance at the time of active infection. However, the differences in structural, functional, and molecular control of biosynthesis between human and bacterial MT might play an important role to determine the proper use of Zn and the winning side. The current review explains the possible involvement of human and bacterial MT at the time of infection to control and exploit Zn for their need