To further promote pisciculture in the state, Punjab Government has decided to increase area under profitable agri-allied occupation, shrimp culture, to 5,000 acres over next five years.
“Farmers are getting an income of Rs three lakh per acre by adopting shrimp farming which is being practiced on the saline-affected water-logged land. It has proved a boon to supplement the farmers’ income,” said the state’s Fisheries Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar on Tuesday.
He said: “With the strenuous efforts of the Fisheries Department, as far as 1200 acre area has been brought under shrimp culture during the last year…The Government has planned to expand shrimp farming in 5,000 acres during next five years in order to increase the income of farmers.”
Bhullar said that for the development of shrimp culture, a dedicated Demonstration Farm-cum-Training Center is being run at Ena Khera village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, where free training and soil-water testing facilities are being provided to shrimp farmers.
He said that special emphasis is being laid to develop infrastructure for fish farming and increase fish production in the state. State government is supplying good quality fish seed to farmers at subsidized rates from government fish seed farms. The construction work of new government fish seed farm is underway at Village Killianwali, District Fazilka, which will soon be completed and dedicated to the people.
The Minister urged the farmers to adopt aqua-culture to further increase their sources of income. “The government is providing 40 to 60 percent subsidy for adopting aqua-culture,” he said, adding that 40 percent subsidy is being provided for general category and 60 percent subsidy is being given to SC/ST/women and their self-help groups.