<i>Fish culture in cages a boon to poor farmers</i>
Cage pisciculture is nowadays gaining popularity in Patuakhali district. Photo shows poor farmers of Kumirmara village under Neelganj union of Kalapara upazila cultivating telapia fish in the cages set up in the nearby Pakhimara canal. Photo: STAR
The newly introduced cage pisciculture has come as a boon to poor farmers, especially those living near open water bodies in the district. Twenty-five poor farmers of Kumirmara village of Nilganj union under Kalapara upazila have already gained success by cultivating tilapia fish in 25 cages set in Pakhimara canal, thanks to the initiative of Speed Trust, a local NGO. Forty more farmers in the same village have also received cages to cultivate fish while five poor women at Sheali village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila have started the easy short duration fish culture. Many poor fish farmers are showing interest to learn the new method to remove their poverty. Speed Trust gave 25 cages, each measuring 10X10X5 feet, to 25 poor farmers of Kumirmara village under Kalapara upazila for cultivation of tilapia fish. Each cage costing Tk 12,000 was given free of cost. The NGO also gave 22,500 tilapia fry worth Tk 84,000 for cultivation in the cages, said Kuddus Howlader, secretary of the fish cultivators' association comprising 25 members. "After setting the cages in the canal we released the fry there on July 19 this year. We put sufficient food into the cages, netted two tonnes of fish in the second week of November and earned Tk over two lakh by selling it. We expect earning the same amount by selling the remaining fish in the cages in late December. "We have already distributed Tk 75,000 from the money among 25 farmers for cultivation of seasonal vegetables on their yard. The rest of the earning has been kept in a bank account," Kuddus said. Fish cultivation in three cages can easily earn a farmer Tk 30,000 per year, said Jasim Uddin, a member of the association. "We will extend our activities soon as achievement of the project is very satisfactory," said Madhobi Hossain, team leader of the project under Kalapara office of Speed Trust. Under a similar project, five ultra poor women of Sheali village under Patuakhali Sadar upazila also started cultivating tilapia fish in five cages late November. The initiative has been taken under a project of Expansion of Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia with the financial support of USAID, said Biswajit Mondal, aquaculture development officer of WorldFish Center. The five-year project, aiming at increasing household income, food security, and overall livelihood in impoverished and agriculture dependent areas of Bangladesh, started in September 2010 in collaboration with IRRI, CIMMYT and WorldFish Center. The project intervention areas belong to 31 districts.
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