Shahzadapur in Samastipur turns obstacles into advantage: through fish farming!
Shahzadapur, Samastipur: the moral of this story may be – next time you travel in Bihar, look out for marshy land, which is often seen as nature’s way of wastefulness. It’s nothing of the sort of course. This was proved recently by a group of fish farmers from the village – Kaushal Kishor Thakur, Vimal Kishor Thakur, Sunil Kumar and Chandrakant Thakur. Ever since 1987 when the 110 acre land failed to produce any paddy, the farmers simply gave up after renewed attempts during the next three years up to 1990. This state of affairs continued right till 2007 when the above-mentioned group began to scan magazines and literature on fish farming.
After some discussion, the group decided to adopt the integrated development plan, combining fish farming, dairy, poultry with ducks and chicken and even horticulture. In 2009, the group travelled to Andhra Pradesh to receive systematic training in pisciculture. Soon others followed the lead and dug up around 45 ponds using solar energy to draw water. Now the villagers have impressed the authorities by producing 2 tons of fish per hectare, and even increased the average weight of fish by 8-10 grams, some of them weighing more than 3 kilos.
Quite unimaginably, the farmers now expect a profit of 2.5 crore rupees per annum. No wonder the animal husbandry minister Giriraj Singh during a recent visit to the village announced the founding of a fish feed mill, a hatchery and a training centre in the area. According to reports, currently more than 37 farmer families are engaged following the example set by the pioneers, and in the process setting an example for the whole of Bihar, in particular areas where crops have been affected by marshy conditions. Notably, the farmers have also raised pulses and mustard on the banks of their ponds which take care of a good part of the fish feed.
Good news