Coopetition as a Resilience Reinforcer: Addressing Vulnerabilities and Revitalizing Shrimp Farming in Southwestern Region of Bangladesh

Shrimp farming is one of the carriers of socio-economic development and progress in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been making economic progress for the past few decades by capitalizing on shrimp farming. Favorable climate, water quality, adequate availability of labor, international patronage and above all domestic demand have made shrimp farming more popular among the farming community in Bangladesh. This shrimp farming continues to play a major role in the development of the domestic economy, including the socio-economic development and improvement of living standards of the farmers. However, along with development, several risks have also been created which are currently creating various obstacles in the path of sustainable development. Prawn farming gained the most acceptance among the farming community by achieving unexpected success in the early stages. However, later the presence of excessive salinity in the agricultural land reduced the fertility of the land due to which the farmers lost the ability to cultivate any other crop except shrimp farming. Besides, coastal areas are affected in various ways due to floods, tidal waves and virus attacks at different times. Among them, the financial loss has the greatest impact on their lives. Lack of household expenditure along with adequate capital for farming creates a negative attitude towards shrimp farming. In addition, due to the quality deterioration of Bangladeshi shrimp in the international market recently, the total demand and price of Bangladeshi shrimp has been reduced. As a result, significant reduction in government sponsorship and international aid is noticeable. At present, many shrimp farmers have given up shrimp farming and are devoting themselves to other occupations. As a result, there is a shortage of land for shrimp farming in these areas. Due to which the price of arable land has increased. All the mentioned problems are playing a major role in reducing the farmers' dependence on shrimp farming. This study will analyze the context and prevalence of the problems along with identifying their sources and degree of impact on shrimp farmer’s life. In addition, coopetition strategy will be verified as a potential tool to enhance the resilience of farmers in shrimp farming. This will contribute significantly towards the sustainable development of Bangladeshi shrimp farmers.

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