Officials said that barren land and saline water, which are considered a curse for agriculture, are proving to be a blessing for farmers in Haryana's Sirsa district.
Haryana has a lot of land that has been left barren owing to rising saline water levels, but farmers have begun earning more money by undertaking shrimp fisheries business through crop diversification than they used to make from other crops, according to state agricultural minister JP Dalal.
He claims that fish farming is now taking place on 785 acres of land in Haryana, 400 acre of which are in Sirsa.
Sirsa, on the border of Rajasthan and Punjab at the far end of Haryana, has the highest number of farmers in the state.
Since the beginning, farmers in Sirsa have primarily grown narma, cotton, guar, paddy, and wheat. Due to the adoption of traditional farming, where groundwater levels dropped significantly in some locations, thousands of acres became saline, and farmers' output on such land ceased while the water level rose. The farmers' economic situation was also affected as a result of the land's infertility.
Dalal stated that the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana was launched to promote the Blue Revolution while keeping farmers' considerations in mind.
Farmers in Sirsa embraced the scheme, which is proven to be beneficial in boosting farmers' economic bases, according to the minister.
Jagdish Chandra, the district fisheries officer said," there is enormous potential for fish farming in saline water and saline land. Under the scheme, the government will grant a maximum of 40% of the unit cost to the general category and 60% of the unit cost to the SC/ST/women category."
At the present, the department of fisheries scheme is proving to be profitable to fish producers. Farmers interested in fisheries can apply for grants to purchase vehicles (motorcycles, cycles, and three-wheelers) for creating ponds on land, salt water fish farming, shrimp farming, and selling fish, he added.
He also stated that white prawn rearing is taking place on around 400 acres in the district. 35 acres are in Chormar Kheda village, 32 acres in Gudiya Kheda village, and 16 acres in Mithdi, which includes Bhangu, Jhordwali, Phoolo, Odhan, Darba Kalan, Manak Dewan, Asha Kheda, Karmshana, Chautala village, and others.
Buyers from Telangana and West Bengal are visiting Sirsa to purchase white shrimp. The fish is exported from here to a number of countries, including China.
Dalal examined the fish farming industry at a state-level conference, where he set a target of 600 acres for fisheries.
He added Sirsa will soon become a pilot project in fisheries around the country. Meanwhile, farmers have asked the state government to establish a water testing laboratory in Sirsa to support the industry.
