Baripada: At a time when coronavirus-induced lockdown has not left any sectors unaffected, in a nondescript village of Mayurbhanj district, a young man is sitting pretty for being able to tide over the crisis by taking to fish farming.
Prafulla Tipiria from Kukudajodi village under Rajabasa panchayat in Baripada block says the lockdown and its detrimental effects have barely affected his fish business. He has so far sold fish worth Rs 30,000 during the last three months.
“After completing my Plus II, I made up my mind to do some business. Initially, I set up a poultry firm. It was when I came to know that fish farming is being done through an organic way, it struck me and I wanted to give it a try. I contacted ‘U Can’ farm in Baripada and sought help from the experts there,” informs Prafulla with a smile.
Prafulla says he first built a tank by spending Rs 25,000. Later, he bought 1,000 ‘Kau’ fish fingerlings for Rs 3 each. He has spent Rs 2,000 on feeding. “I spent a total of Rs 30,000 on the fish tank. As of now, each fish in the tank is weighing 250 to 300 grams. And I have so far sold fish worth Rs 30,000,” shares Prafulla.
These days, people from nearby areas are coming to him to buy fish, he adds.
“The tank I have set up can hold 10,000 litres of water. I started with 1,000 fingerlings for me being a beginner. But I can grow 5,000 to 10,000 fish in a tank with the same measurement as mine. And if one sets up three such tanks, he can earn more than one lakh rupees in a year,” he informs.
Regarding how he is taking care of the tank and fish, he narrates, the fish are to be fed twice a day. And the water in the tank needs to be changed once a week. While informing that he is going to add prawn farming to his existing unit, he says youths instead of running after jobs can be self-reliant by adopting fish farming with an organic approach.
