How to make fish farming more profitable?

Agriculture alone may not bring enough income to the farmers. Therefore, they look for more options such as animal husbandry, poultry, etc. Fish farming is one such option to supplement their income.

Looking for better returns, Ramchandra, a farmer from Kulas Khurd village of Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh, started fish-farming in the year 2021. Within a year, he has grown his business inspiring other farmers to follow his path. A team of ‘Kissan of India’ met him at his pond to gather key information about fish farming.

In a conversation with our correspondent Pankaj Shukla, Ramchandra took us through his journey and shared important points related to fish farming.

Before Starting Work, Training is Essential

Before starting the fish farming business, Ramchandra took training in 2018. He had been practising traditional farming for many years, yet his income was low. He began fish farming as a supplementary activity which yielded good profits at a low cost as compared to horticulture or animal husbandry. He plans to pursue beekeeping, poultry and horticulture in the near future. His advice to fellow farmers is to pursue fish-farming business only after gaining knowledge and training.

Arhar cultivation around the pond

To keep the soil intact around the pond, Ramachandra has cultivated tur or arhar on its ridges. He explains that by cultivating flowers or other things on the bunds around the pond, the soil does not leak during the rainy season and farmers get a double benefit. By cultivating tur in one acre, farmers get about 8 quintals of tur. He says rose or marigold flowers can also be cultivated on the bunds.

Cost of fish

Ramachandra has cast seeds of three varieties of fish in his pond- around 15,000 seeds of common carp, 10,000 of rohu and 20,000 seeds of katla i.e. cumin sized fish. He says that the cost of cumin-sized fish is 20 paise to 1 rupee per fish, while finger-sized fish can be found from Rs 2.5 to 5 rupees.

But it takes time to prepare them. He spent Rs 2500 for 10,000 seeds of Rohu. He says that it takes 15 to 18 months for the cumin-sized fish to be ready. As far as the price is concerned, Rohu fish can be sold for Rs 100 to 120 per kg, if sold directly from the pond. If a farmer wants to have quick maturing fish, then he can rear the fastest growing pangasius fish.

What to feed the fish?

Mustard cake, groundnut, sesame cake, boiled rice and boiled corn kernels can be given to fish. To reduce costs, Ramachandra explains, farmers can use whatever grain they grow and feed it to fish. Mineral mixture, mineral salts and turmeric are also added once a month to the pond. Being antiseptic, turmeric reduces the risk of any kind of disease to the fish.

Apart from this, a waste composer is used and 8-10 kg of salt is added to the pond. To maintain the pH balance of water, he also uses lime and alum on the advice of scientists.

Does the pond water need to be changed?

If possible, it is better to change the water of the pond. The water drained from the pond has high ammonia, thus, it can be used to irrigate farm land. It reduces the use of urea in the field, benefitting the crop and yield. The level of ammonia in the water increases due to the beet of fish.

How much will be the profit?

According to Ramachandra, in the past 18 months, he has invested around Rs 2 lakh and in return, expects to sell fish worth Rs. 8 to 9 lakhs, i.e. he will make a profit of about Rs 6 lakhs. Also, one does not need to spend much time on fish farming. Half an hour daily is enough to feed the fish.

So, if you are looking to increase your earnings, you can start fish farming after gathering complete information about it.

Contact details: If farmers want to share information or experiences related to farming with us, then they can do this by calling us on the phone number 9599273766 or by writing an email to kisanofindia.mail@gmail.com or by sending your recording. Through Kisan of India, we will convey your message to the people, because we believe that if the farmers are advanced then the country is happy.