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Residential exposure cum training program for the fish farmers of Gajapati district, Odisha

Barrackpore, 2^nd June, 2024
Gajapati district is located to the south-east of Odisha, and the Mahendratanaya River flows through it. Though the district is located on the hilly terrain of the Eastern Ghats, it has enough potential for fish culture. After seeing the potential water resources, a 4-day residential exposure cum training program on "Inland Fisheries Management" was conducted for fish farmers of Gajapati district, Odisha, from May 28th to 31st, 2024. Sponsored by the Development Foundation NGO, the program aimed to elevate the knowledge and skills of rural farming communities. A total of 23 fish farmers, including 2 assistant fisheries officers (AFO), participated in the training program to acquire knowledge for maximum output, sustained livelihoods, and higher profitability through fish culture.

The program was inaugurated by Dr. Srikanta Samanta, HOD, FRI Division,ICAR-CIFRI. He underlined in his inaugural speech that in order to secure their sustainable means of livelihood, fishermen must increase their understanding of inland fisheries management.
The growth of inland aquaculture in Odisha's Gajapati district has a lot of potential for better livelihoods. ICAR-CIFRI aimed to bridge the farmers' gaps in understanding, proficiency, and perspective about the management of inland fisheries through this training program. Aspects of the fisheries sector that were covered in the course included pond construction and management, composite fish culture, nurseries and rearing ponds management, induced fish breeding, feed ingredients and their preparation, fish health management, socio-economic aspects, prawn culture for improving livelihood, ornamental fish farming, natural fish food organisms in inland open waters, and basic water quality management in open waters.

The trainees were taken to the ICAR-CIFE, Kolkata Center, as part of their exposure visit programme. Along with receiving hands-on training in a multitude of need-based subjects, such as basic water quality parameters, preparing fish feed using locally sourced ingredients, identifying fish pathogens and appropriate remedies, etc., they were also exposed to the Institute's Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS), Bio-floc units, ornamental hatchery units, and feed mill.
The feedback session's benchmark was the trainees' overall satisfaction with their expanded knowledge, which they planned to use for their own water resources. In his concluding remarks, Dr. B. K. Das, the Director of the institute, advised the farmers to combine more productions using the knowledge they had gained from this training. The training program was coordinated by Dr. Dibakar Bhakta and Dr. Pritijyoti Majhi, with assistance from Shri Sujit Choudhury, Shri Manabendra Roy, Dr. Avishek Saha and Mrs. Ambily M. N.