Jharsuguda: Acute shortage of farm hands, thanks to industrialisation has adversely affected the prospect of fish farming in this district, according to a report.
Though the state government has recently come up with some attractive package to boost farming, they evoked lukewarm response from new entrepreneurs. The present scenario is very discouraging to say the least, experts said. Despite having huge potential in the district for fishery, tonnes of fish are being brought from other states to meet local demands. This is not a good sign for the state’s economy, they added.
One of the major reasons for the pitiable state of fish farming in the district is scarcity of expert farm hands, according to observation of the district fishery officer and some prominent farmers of the district. Rapid industrialisation in the district has led to the situation, they said.
According to reports, most of the unskilled workers are being absorbed by the industrial units set up in the district. The workers are not interested to work as daily wagers since they earn more by working in factories. Promoters of pisciculture are shying away from work as they don’t get regular workers to engage in their business.
Things would go from bad to worse as fishing from Hirakud reservoir is likely to be affected in the wake of construction of dam and barrages on the upstream of the river Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh government, observers said.
According to statistics available with the department, 2,129 hectares of land comprising 1,837 government and private tanks were used for pisciculture in the district during 2015-16 fiscal. This had produced 4,903 tonnes of fish during the period. Besides, 829 tonnes of fish are produced annually from Hirakud reservoir alone which helps running the families of 2,000 fishermen in the district.
Despite such high yield, local traders import fish from other states to meet the local demand, it was learnt.
Even as the fish production is more in Laikera, Jharsuguda and Lakhanpur blocks of the district, they are inadequate for the customers, locals said. Shortage of workers has prevented fish farmers to take up the occupation, they claimed.
“Though raising fish is a money spinning venture, dearth of expert farm hands discourages new entrepreneurs,” fish farmer Ashok Kumar Nayak said.
Fish farming needs committed workers and there is an acute shortage of such hands in the district. Though sufficient lands and ponds are available for fishing in the district they have been left unutilised, another farmer Sarojini Bhaisa said.
District fishery officer Prasant Tripathy, acknowledging the problem, said, youths are more interested in industrial units which has taken a heavy toll on the pisciculture prospects in the district. PNN
