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Transforming the Livelihoods of Rural Tribal in Sagar Island: A continuous effort of ICAR-CIFRI

9^th February, 2025
Shri Bankim Hazra, Minister of Sundarban Affairs, Government of West Bengal inaugurated the input distribution programme on 9th February, 2025 in presence of Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore. The Indian Sundarban is constantly facing tropical cyclones along with massive tidal surges.

The foundation of the rural economy has been shattered by the regular risks brought on by anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Under the SCSP & STC development programs, ICAR-CIFRI is constantly offering its assistance to rural fish farmers in order to rescue them from these difficult circumstances by offering a variety of technology inputs for reviving their fish farming livelihood. Gangasagar is one of the rural island in the Sundarban Delta where river Ganga mixed with Bay of Bengal. In the rural villages of this area, the private house ponds are used for both drinking and fish farming. Keeping the background in view community empowerment activity was planned. The primary goal is to boost their income by raising fish in their backyard ponds and ensuring their nutritional security by giving them protein supplements.

In order to strengthen the rural economy, ICAR-CIFRI has encouraged fishermen to start small-scale inland fisheries in their backyard rain-fed water bodies over the past 12 years. Every household has received fisheries inputs like, fish seed, fish feed, lime, and medicine from ICAR-CIFRI. The support is provided to 240 ST women fish farmers belonging to 8 GPs of Sagar Community Development (CD) Block having pond size of 0.02 ha to 0.04 ha in their backyards under STC programme. A mass awareness camp was also carried out in collaboration with Sagar Krishnanagar Swami Vivekananda Youth Cultural Society at Gangasagar. The MIC praised the ICAR-CIFRI initiative, which was the first of its type in the Sunderban region and greatly aided in improving the livelihoods of a large number of beneficiaries in the fish culture sector. Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore, told that the initiative will benefit each fisherman participating in these extensive awareness-cum-input distribution programs. Additionally, he opined how this will improve their livelihoods and income, which will in turn increase their profits for sustainable agricultural methods that include fish culture.

In this occasion a significant step towards enhancing fisheries development in remote regions, ICAR-CIFRI has provided FRP Carp Hatchery unit which also inaugurated. This initiative aims to meet the growing demand for quality fish seed in the region, ensuring sustainable fish production and improving the livelihoods of locals fishers.