Women hold the key to Blue Revolution in Punjab

Women of the state are marching shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in the progress of the Blue Revolution. On record, 140 women are managing shrimp farms in the state against 155 men and 576 females are managing the fish ponds against 3,682 men.

Nurturing a 10-acre farm at Ena Khera village in Muktsar, Harsimrat Kaur says, “Taking care of fish comes naturally to women just like poultry and dairy. There are at least a dozen ponds being run by fellow women in our immediate neighbourhood.”

Sheenam Jindal, Assistant Director (Fisheries), Muktsar, says, “Women are excellent in pond management. Even our department has a sizable number of women officers. It is very interesting to see women running integrated units of poultry and fish or piggery and fish. Fish feed delightfully on excreta of the poultry as well as pigs.”

Meanwhile, sources said numbers needed to be better understood in the context that there was no one denying the fact that women were an irreplaceable part of the workforce in manning the aquaculture projects.

It is worth mentioning that at least 173 women joined after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in 2020. Although not exclusively for women, the scheme covers women as the key target group and provides them with special financial assistance and support.

Giving details, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry Development and Fisheries, Rahul Bhandari, said, “During an ongoing survey, teams have reported that even in the projects registered in the name of their husbands, ladies are playing the pivotal role in running the fish and shrimp farms. Women excel in feeding, pond maintenance and harvesting activities which are very vital to the survival of the water creatures. Showing tender care in raising the aqua population, women hold the key to success of an alternative path to the traditional cycle of wheat-paddy farming in the state”.

Tejinder Kaur, a resident of Bahadur Khera village in Fazilka district, says, “I started with loan from the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna (PMMSY). I found that fish gave better financial returns compared to the traditional wheat or paddy. I make about Rs 3 lakh per acre in one season. I will definitely expand my work.”

Punjab fisheries are expanding big time in Punjab after a slight slump couple of years ago. The state has 43,683 acres under aqua farming producing two lakh tonnes annually in 2024-2025.

Official data says fish production went up from 1,64,879 tonnes in 2020-2011 to more than 2,00,003 tonnes in 2024-2025. The number of ponds went up from 12,112 to 12,881 and the area under fish increased from 41,093 acres to 43,683.

Providing details of shrimp culture, the Director and Warden of Fisheries, Gurpreet Singh says shrimp farms in districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Abohar and Fazilka districts have mostly come up on land that has been rendered unfit for agriculture with saline waters. Punjab is producing about 2,550 tonnes of shrimp annually, most of which is transported outside the state”.

Gurpreet Singh says, “The Department of Fisheries, Punjab, is one of the oldest fisheries departments in India dating back to 1912. Our department organises five-days training camp in each district every month. College of Fisheries at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University provides expert advice to farmers round the year.”