Youths become self-reliant through extensive fish farming in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI, Sept 20 (BSS): Fish farming has increased manifold as a result of growing interest among the people to cultivate fish in the district over the last couple of years.
In 2017, there were 7,294 hectares of ponds, including commercial farming on 3,462 hectares, in the district. The commercial farming stood at 12,309 hectares in 2018.
There were 43,196 commercial fish farming ponds on 13,150 hectares of land yielding 84,000 metric tonnes of fish in 2021. Around 85,334 tonnes of fish were produced in the following year.
District Fisheries Officer Jahangir Alam said fish production has doubled in the district during the last couple of years. In the last ten years, numbers of fish farming ponds have also escalated to a greater extent.
He said many of the jobless youths have become self-reliant as they are motivating them in many ways.
At present, Rajshahi has become a fish-surplus district and it has been earning huge money through selling fish in other districts regularly.
Jahangir Alam also said many of the people are becoming self-reliant through fish farming commercially as Rajshahi is the suitable place for farming since immemorial time.
Rajshahi along with its surrounding districts is the pioneer in the field of supplying live fish to different parts in the country including the capital Dhaka.
There are scores of ponds on 13,050 hectares of land producing 84,000 tons of fish every year ensuring food security in terms of animal protein besides generating employment for around 288,000 people.
Sadiqul Islam (54), a commercial fish farmer in Paba upazila, had started fish cultivation in a small pond in 2012. Now, he has ponds in over 180 bighas of land.
"Fish farming is a profitable business and the live fish trading is more profitable and lucrative." Ershad Ali (47), another fish farmer of Shilmaria village under Puthiya upazila, said.