As a subsidiary occupation of agriculture, fish farming can provide farmers of Punjab with an additional income source, according to Punjab Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.
Farmers should take advantage of the government’s 40% subsidy for adopting fish farming, said the Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister.
The state government is committed to providing all possible assistance to fish/shrimp farmers on World Fisheries Day, celebrated on November 21.
As part of its efforts to increase fish production in the state and develop infrastructure for fish farming, the state government is making continuous progress in the field of fisheries, he said.
According to an official statement, 1,89,647 tonnes of fish are produced from 43,691 acres of Punjab fisheries.
There is shrimp farming in Punjab on lands affected by waterlogging and saline water, which has proven to increase farmers’ incomes. According to him, shrimp are currently cultivated on 1,200 acres.
Punjab has 15 government fish seed farms, while Killianwali in district Fazilka is getting a new government fish seed farm.
There is also a wholesale-retail fish market operated by the government at Ludhiana, and a new fish market is under construction at Patiala, which will be operational soon.
Further, the Fisheries Minister said that the government has been subsidizing the beneficiaries by 40 percent on the total cost of projects such as preparing new ponds for fish/shrimp culture, installing biofloc technology systems, establishing fish feed mills and acquiring fish transportation equipment.