January 11, 2007

 

India's state of Haryana to expand fish production

 

 

India's state of Haryana is embarking on a Rs 73-crore (US$16 million) project for the development of fisheries in the state and it is seeking Japanese expertise in the process.

 

The Haryana Fisheries Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said Haryana has made significant progress in fisheries.

 

The state government had established 18 Fish Farmers Development Agencies at the district level for providing technical and financial assistance to the farmers. There were 10,000 village ponds in Haryana, of which 80 per cent had been slated for fish culture, he added.

 

Chatha said aquaculture allows the villages to earn income by leasing the village ponds to entrepreneurs.

 

Private farmers also added more than 2,000 ponds in their own land. The total fish production from the ponds was 46,000 tonnes per year, or 4,576 kgs per hectare, making the state second in the country in terms of per hectare fish production.

 

The minister said the Haryana government had launched various programmes for utilisation of water logged and saline-effected areas for fish culture.

 

He said fish production had come a long way since 1966, when only 600 tonnes were produced. For 2005-2006, the state produced 48,200 tonnes.

 

The state is aiming to better that to 55,000 tonnes fish during 2006-07 and 100,000 tonnes per year by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan in 2011-12.

 

Fish markets and various other facilities such as transportation were also being provided for farmers.

 

Chatha said the government was providing various types of basic training in fish farming and fish seed production at the district level.

 

The minister said the government had also set up 20 Fish Health Care Centres, one at each district, 14 Aquatic Poly Clinics at Government Fish Seed Farms and one State Level Diagnostic Lab at Hisar to help the farmers for treatment of fish diseases and fish health care.