Massive production of sweet water fish expected

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RANGPUR, Feb 9 (BSS): Over 350 additional tonnes of sweet water fish was expected to be produced this year in greater Rangpur district following massive steps had taken last year by government and Armed Forces to drastically cut poverty through fish-farming.
An integrated fish farming project on "Ensuring Food Security and Poverty Alleviation in Poverty-prone Greater Rangpur" of the government at a cost of Tk 120 million and initiatives of the Armed Forces contributed a lot, officials said Saturday.
The Department of Fisheries (DF) in collaboration with non-government organisations (NGOs) has been implementing the project for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation through fish farming and creating jobs for the hardcore poor and unemployed youths in the Monga-prone greater Rangpur.
Experts of the Parbatipur Sweetwater Fish Farming Sub-Centre with the assistance of DF and Bangladesh Fish Research Institute last year conducted integrated training courses for unemployed youths and farmers to increase fish production by providing the farmers with the latest technologies.
Fish farming got momentum following huge motivational activities conducted by the concerned departments and the Army during the Fish Fortnight for preserving indigenous species of fish and boosting production of all varieties of fish in the prospective area, officials said.
Besides, the initiatives taken by Armed Forces, including providing financial supports and fish fries to the farmers, for cultivating fish in the 95-kilometre long huge canal of the Teesta Barrage Project (TBP), have ushered in new era in the pisciculture sector.
DF officials said, the three-year project had been launched last year to give a boost to the pisciculture sector through increased farming of all varieties of fish in the available water bodies, crop fields and floodplains in these five Monga- prone districts.
Renovation, re-excavation, digging, construction of necessary infrastructures and other works of hundreds of abandoned, derelict and hyacinth infested water bodies including ponds, beels, haors, dried up river beds at suitable places and raising of embankments are still continuing.
Most of the water bodies and huge canals of the TBP have been handed over after completion of the massive development works, to the targeted groups, societies and fishermen's community for successfully achieving the target in the sector, officials said.
The farmers, fishermen, unemployed youths and poorer people have been provided with adequate training and necessary inputs to help them in operating comprehensive and integrated pisciculture activities under a sustainable and proper management system under the project.
They were also educated on the latest technologies for pisciculture for properly releasing fish fry and fingerlings into the water bodies and nurturing them through systematic feeding and their harvest, transportation and marketing system.
The technical support and training programmes along with the development of these water bodies and extension activities for fish farmers have been continuing in phases during the total project implementation in greater Rangpur, they said.
The NGOs involved with the project are playing very important roles in motivating the fish farmers by imparting training in modern pisciculture technology and overall fish-farming and marketing managements.
Officials said different other steps like tree plantation under the project has been taken up for maintaining an eco-friendly environment, bio-diversity and protecting the water bodies from natural disasters and calamities and for financial profits of the farmers.
DF officials told the news agency that the deficit of fish in the region could be overcome through farming fish using the latest and developed technologies and the farmers should come forward as the government would provide all necessary assistance.
Talking to the news agency, the experts said proper utilisation of water bodies, beels, haors and floodplains under the on-going project will definitely increase production of fish that will help alleviate poverty of the rural people in greater Rangpur and help them achieve economic self-reliance.