FARMER'S NOTEBOOK
Aquaculture: netting profits despite scarce resources
M.J. PRABU
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Silt from a 30-cent fishpond can be used as manure for a hectare
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— Photo: M.J. Prabu
PRIZE CATCH: Mr. A. Ambalavanan, a fish farmer at Sikkal in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu seen with his catch.
WATER MANAGEMENT holds the key to the future. Successful farming depends to a large extent on minimal water wastage, while at the same time increasing crop yield.
Though there are several water conserving technologies available at present, farmers still largely depend on traditional methods for conserving water such as digging pits and desilting ponds and tanks.
Pit technology
Mr. A. Ambalavanan is one such farmer in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu.
He has dug about 4 pits in his 5 acre land. All the pits are about 100x120 feet connected with a pipe at the bottom.
"The land was totally dry with practically no water facility and I had great difficulty in raising my coconut and banana crops. I tried sinking some tubewells, which yielded only salt water as the lands are near the sea."
Water scarcity
The surface soil was hard with a lot of white powdery salt formations on the surface. "It was then I decided to dig the pits to collect rainwater during the monsoon to overcome the acute water scarcity," he explained.
He is at present growing local fish varieties such as Rogu, Katla and Meergal in the ponds. "During summer, I see to it that at least one or two ponds have water in them, to raise the fishes," he said.
The fish were grown to supplement income during the initial stages of his coconut and banana crops.
"Being an organic farmer I feed the fishes only Panchagavya, maize powder and groundnut cake." The fish take about 5-6 months to reach full growth. At present he sells the fish at the rate of Rs. 40 per kilo.
Three times more
According to Mr. Ambalavanan, the government should encourage delta farmers to grow fish in ponds along with their paddy crops as the income from the fish is three times more than that from paddy cultivation.
Growing fishes in ponds has a twin advantage according to Mr. Ambalavanan. They provide a steady income for the farmers when their crops fail due to adverse conditions and the silt at the bottom of the pit is a rich source of organic manure for the crops.
According to official statistics available with the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU), Coimbatore, the silt taken from a 30-cent fishpond can be used as a fertilizer for a one hectare field.
The government should extend more subsidies such as free electricity to farmers growing fresh water fishes, according to Mr. Ambalavanan. "Compared to poultry farmers who require electricity 24 hours a day, fish farmers require electricity for only 5-6 hours once every 20-25 days to refill the pits with water," he said.
At present there are only a handful of delta farmers who are growing fresh water fish in ponds. According to Mr. Ambalavanan, compared to prawn and shrimp rearing, there is a very good demand for fresh water fish.
Wrong notion
In addition to fishes, he is also growing a number of coconut trees around the pond bunds. "There is a wrong notion among many farmers that digging ponds occupies a large area, which can be utilised for planting trees.
"This is not true. For example, if you are going to plant about 75 coconut trees in one acre at a distance of about 25 feet between them, the same number of trees can be planted along the pond bunds at a reduced spacing of about 10 or 15 feet between them," he explained.
Leaf mulching
The dried leaves of his banana and coconut trees are mulched into the soil, which serve as a good organic manure at the same time preventing moisture evaporation.
By continuous mulching, over the years the salinity and the hard nature of the soil has gone down, he explained.
Readers can contact Mr. A. Ambalavanan at Anna organic farms, Sikkal, Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu: 611108, mobile:98424-99444, phone:04365-245585.
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