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National Fish Farmers’ Day: Youths, women tasting success with ‘blue economy’ start-ups in U.P.
Following the training in fish farming, Hammad started his own business in 2019 with eight cement tanks and two poly house underground nursery ponds.
LUCKNOW While his graduate degree couldn’t land him a job, a brief training at ICAR-National Bureau of Fisheries Genetic Resources (NBFGR) proved to be a boon for 26-year-old Lucknow-resident Mohd Hammad.
Following the training in fish farming, Hammad started his own business in 2019 with eight cement tanks and two poly house underground nursery ponds. Four years hence, his Gomti Nagar-based start-up’s annual turnover is around ₹30 lakh.
Hammad rears pangasius fish in his farm which has a huge demand in Uttar Pradesh. “Today, I export fish to 5-7 districts in the 100 km adjoining area of Lucknow,” said Hammad, who did not have any fishing background before starting his venture.
Interestingly, he is not the only one to have scripted a success story in fish farming. A Barabanki-resident, Suresh Sharma, who holds a PhD in fisheries, is also a well-known fish businessman locally.
“After pursuing my Bachelor’s and Masters’ degrees in fisheries and a PhD in the same from ICAR-NBFGR, I decided to launch my start-up -- ‘Waris Fish Farm’. I used my 2-hectare land in my village for fish hatchery. Here, I hatch 90% of pangasius fish which is in high demand,” said Sharma, the son of Army man with no involvement in the fish business.
Gone are the days when fishing business was only associated with a particular community. Like farming and start-ups, fish agriculture is also becoming a lucrative start-up area for youngsters, who are using their farms to dig ponds. Seeds from West Bengal are hatched in different artificial ponds till the time they are in the stage of marketing.
On National Fish Farmers’ Day on Monday (July 10), these young entrepreneurs will be given certificates for achieving significant results in the sector. Talking about youngsters entering into the fisheries sector, ICAR-NBFGR director, UK Sarkar said, “It is emerging as a promising avenue providing vast opportunities for the country’s educated youth. With the government’s support in the blue economy and sustainable development for livelihood enhancement, the sector is witnessing enormous growth, providing ample opportunities for educated youth to contribute and in turn, enjoy lucrative benefits.”
He added, “Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana that aims to develop a comprehensive framework and reduce infrastructural gaps in the fisheries sector is one of the reasons why youth are attracted to this business.”
According to the institute, not just youngsters, women farmers and housewives are also showing interest in fish farming, which has never been so common in the state. A few years ago, Rajrani from Bahuta (Barabanki) began fisheries work on a 0.75-hectare plot of land with vegetable cultivation in order to improve his family’s standard of living. He has begun growing fish in her 0.25-hectare and 0.5-hectare rented ponds. Today, in addition to raising marketable fish on his property and feeding his family, he is also making money from selling fish. Such stories are in abundance across the state.
