Aquaculture innovators honoured by CIFA on National Fish Farmers’ Day

Bhubaneswar,  10 July, 2011

The Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture today observed National Fish Farmers’ Day to mark the discovery of induced breeding of fish. Dr K H Alikunhi and Dr Hiralal Chaudhury accomplished this feat while working at Quila Fish Farm near Cuttack on 10 July in the year 1957. As a part of this celebration CIFA also organized Aquaculture Innovators’ Meet. “Farmers often experiment with their resources and available technological options for maximizing outputs through trial and error and come up with several locally tested practices, which become highly popular in that area” said Dr P. Jayasankar, Director, CIFA.  He added that “these valuable ideas and technologies remain unnoticed which need to be recognized and shared among farmers of similar agro-climatic regions. The innovators can equally contribute in planning, research and dissemination of technology and development”.

Dr. Jayasankar felicitated eleven progressive fish farmers from various states of the country including Orissa (5), Uttar Pradesh (2), Maharashtra (1), Bihar (1), West Bengal (1) and Karnataka (1) for adopting scientific fish farming practices and also extending support to other farmers in the locality. A book “Aquaculture Innovators” – a compilation of 16 success stories on fish farming was also released on the occasion. Aquaculture Field School (AFS), a school without walls where one farmer learns from another, was established by CIFA in Bhatpadagarh, Banpur block and the other at Sarakana in Balianta block of Khurda.

Two farmers, Manabendra Moharatha and Batakrishna Sahoo, in whose farm the AFS is operating for the benefit of fellow farmers are also felicitated. The institute also presented ‘Scroll of Honour’ to Sri Panchanan Sahoo, Fishery Extension Officer, Barkote, Deogarh for his dedicated service and dynamic leadership for the upliftment of fish farming community. Around 100 farmers attended the programme.  Among others who spoke were Dr. S D Tripathi; Dr. C Saha, ex-Directors of CIFA, Dr. Dilip Kumar, ex-Director, CIFE, Mumbai, Dr. J K Jena, Director, NBFGR, Lucknow.

(Source: NAIP Sub-Project on Mass Media Mobilization, DKMA with inputs from CIFA, Bhubaneswar)