In India, aquaculture, particularly freshwater aquaculture has emerged as a fast growing enterprise and a viable alternative to the declining capture fisheries. Supply of appropriate size of quality fish seed of desired species at the right time is very important for successful aquaculture. Easy availability of inputs like fish fry, supplementary feed and fertilizer can facilitate the women participation in aquaculture. Cary fry production in the backyard ponds can be a viable economic activity for the rural women
In India, aquaculture, particularly freshwater aquaculture has emerged as a fast growing enterprise and a viable alternative to the declining capture fisheries. Supply of appropriate size of quality fish seed of desired species at the right time is very important for successful aquaculture. Easy availability of inputs like fish fry, supplementary feed and fertilizer can facilitate the women participation in aquaculture. Cary fry production in the backyard ponds can be a viable economic activity for the rural women
The participation of women in aquaculture is restricted mostly because of the non proximity of aquaculture sites. Majority of the rural households especially of Odisha and West Bengal have back yard ponds which could be used for fry production. This will help in the utilization of the otherwise useless ponds and also in the increased participation and income generation of women. It also enables enhanced fish production by facilitating the availability of fry in the village. Since being a short duration culture practice, carp fry production is better suited for rural women in terms of time they have to spent in the management activities.
The technology yields encouraging results in terms of increased fry production as well as additional income for the participating women. The fry production technology was demonstrated in 11 villages of Odisha. A total pond area of 0.858 ha was utilized for fry production of around 7 lakhs. The participating women could get a profit of Rs 95640/ha by participating in the activity. Economics of carp fry production in an ideal pond size of 0.02 ha shows that a profit of Rs 2968/- could be earned within a single cycle of 30 days.