Shrimp farmers net fortune in 4 months

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, September 28

Five farmers of the district, who opted for shrimp (jhinga) farming after utilising the subsidies given by the state and the Centre, are a happy lot as their first produce has come.

Narrating their experience, Harpinder Kaur and Joginder Kaur, both farmers of Kolianwali village in the Lambi Assembly segment who have shrimp pond on 3.5 acres, said the results of the first year were encouraging and the traders from Delhi had come here to buy their produce at attractive prices.

Harpinder Kaur said though the cost of shrimp farming was much higher than the normal fish farming, the profit too was almost double.

“The subsidies available on shrimp farming have turned our waste land into gold. We had started shrimp farming about four months ago by bringing seeds from Tamil Nadu. We signed an agreement to sell shrimp of Rs 12 lakh with a trader, but it will go for more.”

Meanwhile, a team of the district administration too visited their pond today to assess the profit and present it as a model before others.

Karamjit Singh, Assistant Director, Department of Fisheries, said, “Shrimp farming has brought a ray of hope for waterlogging-affected farmers. It can be done in the land where the salinity of water is more than 5 parts per trillion (ppt). The shrimp produce of about 12 lakh can be produced from one acre.”

He added that 90 per cent subsidy was being given to excavate ponds for shrimp farming and 50 per cent subsidy for purchase of seed, feed and other equipment required.

The department officials further said though the number of expected farmers into shrimp farming was much lesser in the first year, they hoped that the number of farmers into shrimp farming would reach 50 by next year in the district.

The state government is opening a research and development centre to promote shrimp farming at Ennakhera village near Malout town in the district.