Nishanth Reddy, a computer engineer took up shrimp farming in 2005. He was as amateur as you & me when he first started his journey to set up Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Aquaculture Pvt Ltd. Fast forward to today, the 27-year-old derives 30 times more production from his 5-hectare shrimp aquafarm located at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh by employing Biofloc technology.
In the early days, Nishanth faced many problems including the various diseases that affected the production. He tried to find the root cause of these diseases and he found that, traditionally, shrimps are grown in water which is placed above the soil. Nishanth found that all diseases are caused by poor quality soil. The presence of ammonia and other chemicals pose as villains to the healthy growth of shrimps.
So, he introduced the HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) geomembrane, which has chemical and ultraviolet resistance properties, the soil is covered with this sheet. Thereby, overexploitation of soil and diseases from it is taken care of.
Apart from this, he made use of Biofloc technology which helped him increase shrimp production - Many folds. “Shrimps excrete the same quantity of feed given to them. Using this technology, the excreta is converted back to feed which is highly nutritious. Aggregates of Bacteria, algae and protozoa are held together in a matrix with organic matter to improve water quality & prevent diseases.” explained Nishanth.
Using these methods he could yield 4-5 MT from one hectare per year. About 100 employees are working on this aquafarm.
Nishanth and his father, Narendranath Reddy, own 80 hectares of farmland. Aquaculture takes about five hectares, while the rest is used for extensive farming. "Using a similar strategy, we'll need at least two years to develop the remaining region." A large expenditure of up to Rs 1.5 crore per hectare is required for this technique. However, it is a highly profitable business that yields a maximum return on investment in about two years", he says.
Nishanth's farm is totally automated, thanks to Biofloc technology and his smartphone. He has installed AI-based CCTV cameras around the ponds and watches the farm from a control room.
Nishanth’s aquafarm was visited by the Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Dr L Murugan last month, and he appreciated the youngster for his efforts.
