Meet this 80-yr-old who has been at the forefront of blue revolution in Nalbari

Nalbari, Dec 21: Manohar Barma of Dihjari village in Nalbari district continues to be a successful and active farmer even at the age of 85. The octogenarian has been involved in the farming sector for the past 40 years and is a pioneer in scientific fish farming and fish seed production in Nalbari district. Barma is indeed a strong man compared to many other persons who are half his age. He still gets up from bed early in the morning and goes to work in his crop fields; he remains busy in his fisheries for the remainder of the day.

"If there is nothing to do, I spend my time taking a walk in the vegetable garden," he told this correspondent at his farm on Thursday. In fact, Manohar Barma is a man who walked ahead of his time. All three of his sons are also progressive farmers of the district.

Manohar Barma, who grew up in poverty, is unique in many ways. This inhabitant of a remote village led a blue revolution in the state from Nalbari district since the 1980s. Along with his three sons, he has been playing an important role in creating the blue revolution in the state by producing 200 million fish seeds annually.

In the 1980s, Manohar Barma first produced fish seeds using the traditional 'hapa' breeding method. Barma strove to become self-sufficient through fisheries and agriculture since the 1980s, in addition to teaching students at an elementary school.

He established the Barma Fish Seeds Production Centre in 1985 and started traditional fish seed production for commercial purposes. Recently, he installed a scientific hatchery and is producing surplus fish seeds. The Barma family has now become a role model for thousands of unemployed youths not only in Nalbari district but also across the state.

Barma's three sons—Nityananda Barma, Niranjan Barma, and Prakash Barma—did not run after government jobs and are now self-employed in the agricultural and pisciculture sectors. They have thereby shown a shining example of self-employment. Nityananda Barma has already won several state-level awards in the field of agriculture. The family is currently engaged in fish farming and cultivation of various crops on their plot of 21 bighas of land.

Manorhar Barma said that traders from different parts of the district, as well as from rural districts of Kamrup, come to buy fish seeds produced by him.

When this correspondent visited his agricultural farm, the octogenarian was busy at his newly established banana orchard. He had planted about 200 improved varieties of 'malbhog' plants last year and has started selling the bananas this year. He has also planted new banana plants this year and established another beautiful banana orchard. If a farmer wants to grow bananas, he can purchase seedlings from his farm. He has also been arranging training for emerging farmers to implement the recent slogan of the Prime Minister about self-reliant India.

Manohar Barma was recently honoured as an ideal farmer and fishery entrepreneur by the Nalbari District Senior Citizens Forum.

Knowledgeable people are hoping that this 85-year-old man will be bestowed with the Assam Gaurav award by the state government, as he has already applied for the award this year. Whether the state government gives the Assam Gaurav award or not, people like Manohar Barma are truly the pride of Assam.

By-

Ramen Kalita