Fish Farming offers lucrative returns
With an aim to take India at the top level in Fish Farming, experts held a session on Opportunities in Fish farming at Kisan Goshthees an integral part of the 13th edition of CII Agro Tech India 2018 and gave a ray of hope to the Farmers of lucrative returns in Fish Farming.
While addressing the session, Madan Mohan, Director & Warden of Fisheries, Punjab Fisheries State development Board stressed on the fact that Punjab has the largest scope in Fish Farming but need work at ground level and required good infrastructure. He said, “Last year production of the fish from Punjab was 1.37 lakh tonne, contributed 1 percent to the national GDP and 2.5 percent across India".
He urged farmers to incline their interest in Fish Farming and said, “No commodities can beat Fish Farming, we should grow different fish spices according to the demand of the market to increase our income.”
Vidya Sagar, Chief Executive Officer of Fish Farmer Development Agency (FFDA) Sangrur, discussed about the myriad of farmers problem in Punjab and said, “Depleting farmers and excess of using fertilizers is damaging the field” and urged farmers to come out in Fish farming, which has less water usage and cost as compared to other farming with lucrative returns.
He added, “Fish farming is now emerging as one of the most successful farming not only in the state but also in the nation due to its increasing demand. The farmers, who have installed aerators in their farming ponds, witness high production by 25-30%.”
To promote Fish Farming, Punjab has extended 50 percent subsidy to install aerators in all districts. On purchase of four-wheel paddle aerator, a subsidy of Rs 23,000 and Rs 18,000 on purchase two-wheel paddle will be awarded to increase the production of fishes.
Mr. Sukhwinder Singh Walia, Assistant Director, Fisheries, Mansa emphasized the importance of fish feed in fish farming. While clearing the misconceptions on the fact, he said, “Most of the people opt for traditional feeding method which is not fit for a balanced feed for the fishes. It is the main reason for less fish output in Punjab.”
Walia, further added that a healthy fish has 60-75 percent protein and hence during its growth, the focus should be emphasized in delivering more protein content in its feed. A fish feed should consist of 25-30 percent of crude protein, 7-9 percent of lipids and fats and about 1 percent of vitamins and minerals.
Farmers gathered from neighboring states at the session received a deep insight of Fish Farming process, which has rewarding results with fewer pitfalls!
