Shyamnagar people demand halt to shrimp, crab farming on cropland

Speakers at a human chain in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira on Sunday demanded an immediate halt to shrimp, crab, and salt farming on agricultural land, warning that the practice is destroying cropland, reducing soil fertility, and threatening food security and local livelihoods.

The human chain, jointly organised by COAST Foundation and Udayan Bangladesh, was held on Sunday at Nawabenki Bazar. COAST Foundation's Head of Climate Change M.A. Hasan moderated the programme while Sheikh Asad, Executive Director of Udayan Bangladesh presided over.

Participants said the deliberate entry of saline water into farmlands for shrimp and crab cultivation is accelerating land degradation, reducing crop production, and creating long-term risks for agriculture-dependent communities, according to a COAST Foundation press release.