প্রকল্প সমূহ

<p>Salt water shrimp cultivation is a significant part of Bangladesh’s economy and export revenues with about 55,000 metric tons of production earning an export revenue of around USD 500,000 million, making this the second biggest export revenue earner after the garments industry. Salt water shrimp cultivation happens in 160,000 hectors of land, involving 600,000 farmers. However, there is very significant scope for improvement in this sector to reduce loss and improve efficiency in cultivation.  </p> <p>Salt water shrimp cultivation is a sensitive process both at hatchery and farm level that is prone to risk due to fluctuating water conditions. Having optimum production of shrimp is dependent on multiple parameters of water condition i.e. pH level, dissolved oxygen level, alkalinity level, temperature, salinity level, ammonia level, existence of heavy metal etc. Any deviation from acceptable range for one or more of the above parameters may have great impact on the productivity of the hatcheries and the farms alike. The shrimp farmers are not able to detect deviation without the use of sensor technologies – however, the use of such technologies is not widespread in Bangladesh currently. They use manual methods through physical observation for checking some conditions which are prone to error and also dependent on 24/7 physical presence, which is not possible.</p> <p>We consulted some experts from the Department of Fisheries and Fish Research Institute to understand the relative importance of measuring the parameters mentioned above, standard range of the parameters, impact of any deviation from the standard range, frequency of deviation observed at farm level, available technology in the market etc. Below is the list of parameters in order of their relative importance on productivity:</p> <p>a. pH level: Optimum range 7.5 pH – 8.5 pH. Deviation will make shrimps susceptible to diseases and their food intake will drop. Sodium and Chloride level in their bodies will decrease. The water’s capacity to produce natural food will decline. Reproductive capacity of the shrimps will diminish. If pH level drops below 5 and rises above 10, the shrimps will die.</p> <p>b. Temperature: Optimum range 28 - 32˚ Centigrade. Drastic change from this range will reduce physiological activity of shrimps. Oxygen level will drop in the water. Food intake, growth and reproduction of shrimps will be reduced.</p> <p>c. Dissolved oxygen level: Optimum range >4ppm. Decrease from this level will reduce shrimp’s growth rate and make them susceptible to diseases. They’ll stop taking food, digestion capacity will be affected and they’ll struggle to breadth. If the level of oxygen get below 2ppm, the shrimp will die.</p> <p>d. Alkalinity: Optimum range >90ppm. Deviation from this level will reduce the buffering capacity. The pH level will be erratic. Any application of fertilizer in the water will be effective. The shrimp will be unable to change its shell.</p> <p>e. Salinity: Optimum range 7ppt – 15ppt. If the salinity level goes below 5ppt, production of phytoplankton and periphyton in water will reduce. If the salinity level goes down drastically, shrimp’s metabolism and osmoregulation will be affected.</p> <p>f. Heavy metal: Existence of following heavy metals are hazardous for shrimp production - Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Copper & Zinc. Heavy metals are measured in three elements i.e. shrimp, water and sediment. If the level of heavy metal rises considerably, it will be accumulated in the gill of shrimps and transmitted to human body when shrimp is consumed. Though it can be deadly but in Bangladesh circumstances, level of heavy metal found is not generally harmful for fish farming.</p> <p>To understand the current practice of measuring these parameters we’ve reached out to five farms at Satkhira District and also talked to experts. The farms don’t have access to any technology that are used for measuring the parameters. Hatcheries, on the other hand, do use technologies. One problem with the current technology used by hatcheries is that the most devices are designed to measure one parameter only and they cannot transmit data to any remote location. There is a device (Hack Kit) that can measure multiple parameters (pH, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen level) but this device is very expensive (1.2 lac taka). The other drawback of Hack Kit is that it needs to be manually operated to measure water conditions thereby making the solution dependent on human intervention. It also does not give any recommendations on what to do. </p>

<p>The solution we propose is a single digital device capable of measuring the above-mentioned parameters except heavy metal (because of its low significance in Bangladesh) for salt water shrimp farming. This device will be always submerged under water and thus it will not need any manual intervention. This device will also generate automatic alert in the form of SMS notification to the farmer’s mobile phone if any parameter is about to deviate from standard range. The notification will also include pre-determined recommendation on what to do under what circumstance. The device is expected to be significantly cheaper than Hack Kit and more comprehensive in performance. Real time notification of probable deviation will ensure timely intervention of farmers. The other obvious benefit is that for use of this device no human involvement would be necessary which is one of the major drawbacks of current manual-based solutions. </p>