Integrated fish farming makes people financially solvent in Rajshahi

Integrated fish farming with poultry birds, vegetables and fruits has been gaining popularity in the region in recent years contributing a lot towards meeting up the gradually increasing demands of fish and vegetables.

Many of the fish farmers set up small-scale poultry farms and vegetable gardens surrounding their ponds as they get extra income from integrated farming.

Altaf Molla said he has four big size ponds with 80 bighas of water. He has established chicken and duck farms and vegetable gardens in surrounding areas. He supplies live fish to Dhaka by truck regularly.

Altaf, a fish farmer in Boilsingh area under Bagmara Upazila, earned around Tk one crore from farming during the last 15 years besides creating employment opportunities for many people.

Golam Saklain of Durgapur Upazila has integrated fish farming in more than 1,320 bighas of water bodies and contributes to bolstering the local economy.

Ashraf Ali of Bardhanpur village under the same upazila has earned success through integrated fish farming in 20 ponds for the last 15 years. He set up a fish feed factory in his locality with his earnings.

General Secretary of the District Fish Farmers Association Sohrab Hossain said the farmers are being habituated and interested in modern fish farming leaving behind the conventional method.

There is no alternative to come out from the conventional practice to produce safe and chemical-free fish, he opined.

District Fisheries Officer Jahangir Alam said around 84,000 metric tons of fish are produced from around 48,427 water bodies in the district. But, the demand for fish in the district is about 66,000 tons.

After farming fish, many people both urban and rural have become rich in the district. He says the matter of selling live fish in Rajshahi markets has created a new dimension as those are being transported to many other districts from here.

In order to meet the increasing demand for food, there is a need to increase fruit, vegetable and fish production in the region. To this end, integrated fish farming has a great role.

Although integrated fish farming increases the supply of food, this type of farming has not yet been attempted on a large scale here, said fish farmer Sohrab Hossain.