Raipur: Transforming Bastar: The Naxal-affected region is now a prospering Pisciculture industry
Pakhanjur region of Kanker district created a distinct identity as a successful pisciculture region
Pakhanjoor’s fish farming industry’s turnover of 500 Crores
More than three thousand farmers are engaged in fish farming
Earlier fish seeds were imported from other states, now it is being exported to different states of the country.
Farmers have earned Rs 125 crore from fish seed alone
Cluster farming of fish in Chhattisgarh has now made a mark in the whole country
Report manpreet singh
Raipur chhattisgarh VISHESH Raipur, 31 January 2023 Bastar was once known as a naxal-affected region but this scenic area filled with greenery has seen unprecedented changes due to the blue revolution of the fish farming. The picture of Koylibeda development block of Kanker district of the state has drastically started changing due to policies of the government. Pakhanjur area of this development block is making a new identity in the country as an emerging region of fish production. Now this area is a well known name on the fisheries map of the country. It is noteworthy that Fish farming is being done here on a cluster approach. This positive change is the result of the collective hard work of the farmers of Pankhajoor area of Koylibeda development block along with the help of the schemes of the state government. In the last 4 years, under the leadership of Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, Chhattisgarh is progressing expeditiously in every field and a new identity of Chhattisgarh is being established in the whole country.
More than five thousand fish farmers are associated with fish farming in Pakhanjur area. The scale of fish farming being done here, can clearly be gauged from the fact that the average annual turnover of fish seed production, transportation and production of fish etc. is more than Rs 500 crore. There are about 19,700 ponds in this region, out of which fish farming is being done in about 99 percent of the ponds.The hard working farmers, along with the help from the state governments’ schemes have brought a revolution in this region with their constant hard work and skill. These farming families carried forward the work of fish farming with the help of local fish farmers. Due to substantial profits earned by fish farmers, now this work has spread to the surrounding villages of Pakhanjur development block as well. Along with fish production, fish seed is also being produced here. From here, fish seed is supplied to different parts of the country including Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh. Significantly,Farmers earn about Rs 125 crore from fish seed alone.
The story of Badekapsi village of Pakhanjur is even more encouraging, farmers of 5 nearby villages are doing fish farming collectively. In these villages, 1700 ponds have been made for fish farming where 30 thousand metric tonnes of fishes are produced. The people of the village informed that now leaving the traditional farming work, people are now drifting towards the fish farming business, because it is a low-cost, high-profit business. Many of their fields in the villages have now been converted into ponds for fish farming.
In Pakhanjur region, the technique of fish farming in cluster approach is becoming increasingly popular among farmers. About 12 thousand 500 hectares of water area is available for fish farming in these villages. Apart from this, 27 hatcheries, 45 farms, 1623 ponds, 1132 hatchery breeding ponds are available here. 72 crore fish seeds are being produced here. Out of this, 64 crore fish seeds are sent to different states of the country.
About 51000 metric tonnes of fish is being produced in Pakhanjur area due to modern techniques of fish farming. Here, 12000 metric tonnes of fish are being produced in 8000 hectares of water area. Apart from this, 80 million pegasus fish seeds are also being produced here. Pegasius fish seed is sent to different parts of the country for fish culture through cage culture.
Fish farming has gained momentum due to various schemes of the government
It is worth mentioning that various schemes run by the state government and the central government, such as the National Agricultural Development Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and Blue Revolution, Fisheries Promotion Scheme, provided great help and guidance to the farmers, due to which the business of fisheries in Pakhanjoor area has flourished. More than 5 thousand fish farmers are directly involved in this work. Farmers say that the fishermen benefited a lot from the Blue Revolution(Neeli Kranti) scheme. The fish farming business has now taken a big shape here due to the loan grant for fish farming with advanced technology and technical assistance.
Agriculture status given to fish farming
Fisheries department of Chhattisgarh government is providing loan grant to fish farmers for fish farming through state-of-the-art technologies like cage culture biofloc, as well as providing technical guidance. Fisheries have also been given the status of agriculture in the state. With this, farmers are getting loans at zero percent interest, electricity and other facilities at subsidized rates similar to agriculture. There is great enthusiasm among the farmers after getting the status of agriculture.
Chhattisgarh ranks sixth in fish production and fifth in fish seed production
Significantly, Chhattisgarh is one of the leading states in the country in fish production. Chhattisgarh ranks fifth in fish seed production and sixth in the country in fish production. In the last four years, 09 Chinese hatcheries and 364.92 hectare cultivation area have been created through Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Fish seed production has increased by 20 percent to 302 crore standard fry, similarly fish production has increased by 29 percent to 5.91 lakh tonnes. For fish farming, 4200 cages have been installed in reservoirs and ponds have been developed in 2410 hectares on the land of fish farmers. Apart from this, 6 feed mills have also been established.
