Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

NGO's success in promoting composite fish culture

By Prabal Kr Das

DIMORIA, April 8 � The efforts of a few highly motivated youths are creating a �blue revolution� in a backward area of Assam. Members of Kalong Kapili, an NGO, with support from the Fisheries Department have been able to promote composite fish culture in Dimoria block, empowering a large number of people.

Today, the low lying areas of two Panchayats have people rearing fish, ducks and pigs besides cultivating banana, a package that has worked to their advantage. The locational edge of being close to a huge market in Guwahati has obviously helped.

�I have earned around Rs 70,000 within a year of starting a fishery, my only source of earning today,� said Sabita Talukdar, a young widow who supports her daughter and mother-in-law with that income.

A visit to the two areas where Kalong Kapili has provided guidance and training to villagers revealed that earning close to one lakh rupees a year is no longer a dream for those engaged in raising fish, ducks and pigs on the same plot. The waste from the animals provides good nutrient for the fish to grow, whereas the animals have easy access to water in the tanks.

Combining rice production with pisciculture has also resulted in a windfall for Rajendra Chandra Das and his family. Spread over 14 bighas, the fisheries generate an annual income of more than Rs 1 lakh. Moreover, the former school teacher has been successful at cultivating organic horticulture, building an enviable reputation.

According to Jyotish Talukdar of Kalong Kapili, the initial efforts were made in 2006, after a few local youths failed to secure employment. The next year with some apprehensions, they formed Kalong Kapili, during which period they helped train 55 persons to start scientific fish farming supported by the Fisheries Department, NABARD and Assam Grameen Bikash Bank, Sonapur. The hard work put in by the youths evidently paid off with fish production going up, and loan beneficiaries paying off their instalments on time.

Today, according to Talukdar, there are nearly 500 people who have benefited from the initiative started by just a few young men. What is significant is the fact that there were no other income augmenting opportunities for most of the people who decided to embrace composite fish culture.

Kalong Kapili now wants to promote fish farming among women in a more focused way, and to expand its technical knowledge base.

In a few months, its members would start raising prawns on an experimental basis, as the bottom dwelling species fetch high prices compared to many other fish.

Sanjay Sharma, an official of the Fisheries Department, commending the NGO�s role in promoting fisheries in the area, mentioned that such initiatives could actually transform the rural economy and give much needed confidence to local people.

�Moreover, what Kalong Kapili has achieved, is replicable in some other parts of the State,� he noted.

Interestingly, banks which initially were reluctant to provide loans to those seeking to invest in fish farming now have a different approach. To those in and around Dimoria block, the banks suggest they first get a recommendation from Kalong Kapili.

Next Story