Training on fish farming concludes

A five-day training programme on fish farming concluded at the College of Fisheries (COF), Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), with 23 entrepreneurial aspirants from several districts of Punjab and adjoining states participating. The programme was tailored into introductory and technical sessions for beginners. Dr Vaneet Inder Kaur, coordinated the event, along with aquaculture scientists Dr Amit Mandal and Dr Khushvir Singh.

Dr JPS Gill, Vice-Chancellor, shared that the university was playing a pivotal role in up-scaling the animal food production systems through its three tier setup, involving skilled human resource production, technology generation and outreach programmes.

Dr Vaneet said that besides technical knowledge, practical training covering best management practices (BMPs) was being provided, including selection of site; construction of fish pond; seed quality and stocking; water quality, feeding and health management; biosecurity; harvesting; processing/value addition and marketing.

In addition to traditional aquaculture practices, participants were also apprised of high yielding species like pangas catfish and climate-smart intensive aquaculture systems like aquaponics, biofloc and recirculatory aquaculture system for higher productivity with lesser water requirement. Aquaculture related entrepreneurial activities, including fish feed manufacturing; azolla culture; processing/value addition; and ornamental fisheries were also discussed with the participants.

For an empirical understanding of the fish value chain, participants visited the farm of S Kulbir Singh in Rajur village and the modern fish market in Ludhiana. Further, they were also briefed about various promotional schemes and the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) for availing beneficiary support under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY). Literature covering different topics was also distributed for future reference.

Dr Meera D Ansal, Dean, COF, said the university was offering assorted capacity-building programmes, with state-of-the-art farm facilities, aimed to empower the regional fish farmers and aspiring stakeholders with required skills for achieving self-reliance through aquaculture and related value chain enterprises.