Scientific fish farming empowering village community in Assam

Ramani Boruah felt immense joy as he witnessed the abundance of fish from the ponds in his backyard during the harvest in November 2023. 

In 2022/2023, the profit from fish production increased by 177 per cent compared to the previous year. Before 2022, Ramani sustained his family primarily through agricultural operations. 

He is now reaping increased profits from fish farming, thanks to the training and demonstration on scientific methods of sustainable aquaculture, provided under the Indo-German development cooperation project 'Food Security through Integrated Aquaculture' (EIAA), which is locally known as Sustainable Aquaculture for Food and Livelihood (SAFAL).

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements the project in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD), Government of India and the State Level Department of Fisheries in Assam and Odisha.

 The project aims to enhance the production of fish and fish products from sustainable aquaculture available to the local population and to increase associated incomes and job availability. Additionally, the project seeks assist that experiences in sustainable and resource efficient aquaculture practices are incorporated into government policies and programmes. 

Like Ramani, more than 6000 farmers received technical trainings and capacity building on resource-conserving and efficient management techniques in sustainable aquaculture practices and building their financial literacy. 

With this the project supports the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) between India and Germany, a joint initiative to promote sustainable development practices for a cleaner and healthier future in India and world over.As the key focus of GSDP, agroecology highlights important pillars such as energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, environmental conservation, community engagement and social equity.

"Before taking the training, the earnings from a 0.20-hectare pond were limited. Now, I have learnt the essence of fish farmingby practising sustainable aquaculture", says Ramani Boruah. Operating as best as he knew, he used rather ineffective and unclear adaptive methods of fish farming. Comparatively, a lack of understanding of scientific fish farming methods and inaccessibility to resources in the sector is common in rural areas of Assam. However, transformations are underway. 

Under the umbrella of the SAFAL project, more than 500 Community Resource Persons (CRPs) from Assam and Odisha have been trained on sustainable aquaculture practices through a stringent training cascade. The CRPs are members of local Farmer Producer Organisations, Farmer Producer Companies, Co-operatives, Producer Groups, or Self-Help Groups (SHGs). 

CRPs are farmers who supports upto 25 farmers through offering trainings and advise, thus are functioning as multiplier of knowledge and act as an Aquaculture Service Provider. The selection process of CRPs involves conducting a Participatory Research Appraisal, a collaborative research method involving community members in data collection and analysis to ensure the research reflects their perspectives and needs. 

It is conducted within farmer institutions followed by an intensive capacity building course.From Naduar Min Palon Samabai SamiteeFPO, Sonitpur, 10 farmers were selected for the CRP training programme and Ramani Baruah was one amongst them.In Assam CRP training sessions were conducted in the Aquaculture Field School of Kalong Kapili in Bogibari, Kamrup, Assam. 

Among a total of 14 sessions, the training includes lectures on Pre-Stocking, On Stocking and Post stocking methods. The training cascade contains basic and advanced modules. It consists of 30 percent classroom and 70 percent hands-on training. Making it accessible to farmers all over, it is designed in a way it can be held without technical and electronic equipment in remote and rural areas. For this, a Farmers Handbook, a Farm Record Book, flipbooks, posters, and pamphlets were co-created among scientists, government officials, experts in sustainable aquaculture practices, aquaculture operators and technical advisors under the SAFAL project.

Fuelled by his entrepreneurial spirit, he found that the knowledge from the training sessions is directly applicable to his real fishpond operations. According to him, the two most important lessons he learnt are growing plankton and liming. As soon as he completed the training, he forecasted the calculative risks, and planned to increase the pond areas upto 0.33 hectares. 

Setting his plan into action, he constructed an additional pond and adopted proper liming techniques. At first, he applied twenty kilograms of lime to0.13-hectare pond just before stocking. For the subsequent eleven months, he divided the remaining forty kilograms of lime accordingly, a new practice he had learnt during the training. He narrated that during 2020, he had little knowledge of proper liming techniques and mindlessly applied one tin of lime to the pond water. He states that after the training sessions, he learnt how to enhance the growth of healthy plankton and maintain the natural food system of the pond ecosystem by soaking a mixture of wheat, urea and Single super Phosphate (SSP) for three days before adding it to pond water to cultivate phytoplankton. 

Additionally, he soaked a mixture of wheat, urea, SSP, Di-ammonium Phosphate, potash, molasses, mustard oil cake and cow dung for five days. Each evening, he adds a small amount of water to the mixture to prevent it from drying out. This mixture is then added to the pond water to cultivate zooplankton. These two processes are carried out with a gap of six days between them and repeated four times a year. Ramani Boruah said, "I have been using self-made vermicompost for fish farming since 1995. In this process, I place banana leaves, water hyacinth, cow dung, and one packet of earthworms in the four corners of the ponds. The earthworms consume these materials and excrete waste. 

During rainfall, the water, combined with cow dung, runs into the pond, blending with the previously applied lime to promote plankton growth". During the training sessions, he learnt that this process not only enhances pond fertility but also helps in the growth of plankton. Earlier, he was unaware that this process was also helpful in making plankton. He has benefitted by combining all three methods for growing plankton. In the season of 2022/23, his income is almost triple. This increase results from an increased fish production from 378 kgs to 593 kgs. Equipped with technical expertise he knows that "the increase in fish production in 2022-2023 is a result of maintaining the natural food system of the pond ecosystem (planktons)," he added.

Ramani has been an exemplar for many in the village community. He is involved in rice cultivation and utilises the profits for fish farming; while utilising the returns from fish farming, he cultivates rice. This strategy prevents him from being in debt, and he encourages other farmers to adopt a similar approach. 

Ramani Boruah says, "getting the CRP training was a crucial experience, through which I gained recognition by spreading the gained knowledge in my community".  He is confident he can economically empower the village community by promoting sustainable aquaculture and alternative livelihoods for many generations to come.

(Madhusmita Chowdhury is currently working as a consultant on the SAFAL project with GIZ. She can be reached at   chowdhury.jmi15@gmail.com.)