Shri shyamal kumar sinha, a 61 year old fish farmer hails from Mangalabag in Cuttack District of Odisha to a lower middle class family. He had completed his graduation in B.Com from Ravenshaw College, Utkal University, Odisha. In hope of better livelihood he explored YouTube and found that fish culture is a promising and profitable business. In year 2017 along with his two partners he leased 3 ponds in 3.2 acre land for six years at Sankarpur, Choudwar, Cuttack, Odisha at a cost of Rs.25,000 per annum and security deposit of Rs. 50,000/.Investing own funds and share from Partners, he constructed 5 ponds and stocked the ponds with yearlings of 150 Kg. in the very first year , within 8 month of practice he earned 3 lakhs from the fish sale with the profit of 1lakh .
In year 2018, his work came into the acknowledgement of Aqua One Center (AOC) field Assistant, by whom he was provided the assistance of 2.5 lakhs of Spawn (Jayanti Rohu- 1.5 Lakh and Improved catla 1 Lakh) under Blue revolution scheme of Government of India.
Initial journey of stocking
With the assistace of 2.5 lakh spawns from AOC, Shyamal Kumar Sinha stocked the spawns in one pond of 1.5 acres and fed them with a mixture of wheat flour, rice bran and ground nut oilcake (GNOC) procured from market after consulting with the NFDB-NFFBB. After rearing for 8 months he harvested and &sold 3.8 tonnes fish with an average weight of 1.2 Kg (Jayanti rohu) and 2.5 Kg (Improved catla) respectively.
Shri Shyamal Kumar invested additional cost of 1.50 Lakhs as production cost. He recouped the total investment within one year with a profit of Rs. 3.2 Lakhs with the additional stock of 300 Kg of Improved catla and Jayanti Rohu.
Small businessman to well known farmer
Starting his carrier from Type writer repairing shop now he is boosting himself as a well known famous fish farmer. He is now a well-known person among the fish farmers and merchants for his hard work and contribution in the sector.
His main focus is only in the improved variety of fishes which provide good production in less time and costing. Presently, he is the leading fish producer in Choudwar area of Odisha providing employment to the 5 person per year in his farm. Farmers from nearby areas are visiting him and his farm to know, understand and learn the techniques of fish culture and how to boost fish culture into a successful business idea. He sells his 2 harvested produce to fish merchants of Cuttack and Dhenkanal district in Odisha.
Future targets
To grow his farm in the future Shri Shyamal Kumar Sinha, the fish farmer has set some future targets. He intends to expand the fish culture area up to 20 Acres of his own in future. He also has intention to dispose of his parental property at Kolkata, and invest the amount he gains to purchase land of 15-20 acres near Choudwar or Narasighpur for constructing his own ponds.
His words
Shri Shyamal Kumar Sinha says, “I have started my first Fish Farming without any prior knowledge and have just followed the instructions of NFDB-NFFBB and State Fisheries officials. I use homemade feed, vitamins and minerals and feed the spawn received from NFDB-NFFBB. To me Fish Farming is the best, subject to availability of quality seed and proper technical guidance”. He acknowledges that all his success in aquaculture is due to the quality seed that he received from NFDB NFFBB and says, “I am totally satisfied’.
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