Adopt a Pond- Help to Ensure Better Livelihood Opportunities for Fish Farmers

Back-to-back droughts wreaked havoc on agricultural production and farmers’ incomes across Bundelkhand region in India. Regions like Bundelkhand were all the more affected, due to regular drought situation in Bundelkhand region. Stopping rainwater run-off and its storage in large man-made tanks/lakes was part of traditional wisdom in Bundelkhand. The region’s Chandela rulers built thousands of tanks and pond for water conservations. These water tanks are used for irrigation as well as supplement livelihood of thousands of fishing community members across the Bundelkhand region.

During the last few years, many ponds and small waterbodies were constructed in the region to support irrigation for farmers. All these small water bodies and ponds have tremendous scope to promote fisheries based livelihood for farmers.

On average, each pond of 1-acre water area can produce at least 1 tonne of fish worth Rs. 70-75000. Such kind of livelihood enhancement has the potential to reduce forced migration and also contribute to nutrition intake for the family. Irrespective of opportunities, farmers are having problems in a different sphere. Since more than 50% of small scale fish farmers practices extensive farming, they need support in a different way. Our experiences categorized difficulty area for farmers in the following way:

 Unavailability of appropriate technical support services.

 Quality seed, localized feed,

 Marketing intelligence,

 Tools and equipment.

 Credit, input inventories,

 Logistics, new technologies support.

The project "Adopt a pond" envisages to set up support services for fish farmers across Bundelkhand region namely in Tikamgarh and Chatterpur district of Madhya Pradesh to enhance production and productivity of ponds. These ponds will serve as a livelihood unit, as well as support in the conservation of waterbodies for better ecosystem maintenance.

Centre for aquatic livelihood- Jaljeevika is working with women's fish farming group, fishery cooperatives, and individual farmers to adopt low-cost technology of fish seed rearing within waterbodies to get quality and bigger size seed. so that production will increase from existing water stocking in ponds. We are also imparting best management practices among farmers to manage ponds, fish feeding technique, collective marketing system and use of dried pond bed to cultivate other agriculture crops like watermelon and cucumber. We are also promoting cultivation of other water produces such as water chestnut(singhara) and lotus cultivation to enhance farmers' income in the area.

As a campaign, we are targeting at least 100 different ponds to be adopted in Bundelkhand area through your support.

We are providing the farmers with good quality seeds, tools and gear, life jackets, funds for installation of low-cost cages for fish rearing and low-cost recirculatory aquaculture system (RAS), and cultivation of Azolla at household level for livestock feed.

We are promoting women's group and fish farmers club to devise better management practices. Above all, we intend to collectivize all pond farmers as a producer organization in the coming months.

We envisage the following impact of this project:

* Enhance household income by Rs.50000 per year by the end of the support period

* Enhance productivity of pond from present 400 Kg of fish per year to 1500 Kg per year.

* Develop women's economic leadership in 100 women's groups

* Set up a farmers producer organization engaged in fishery based activity for more than 2000+ fish farmers

* Develop a system of market linkages for farmers, service providers and market functionary for better price realization

and establish a culture of entrepreneurship among fishing community members.