A farmer from Aivarnadu village in Sullia taluk, Karnataka has taken freshwater farming as per the technique given by Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra to earn an additional side income. Sullia Taluk is a coastal city and Aivarnadu is 110 km from the city.
Naveen Chathubai, was already involved in agriculture. And with a small push of an initial investment, he constructed two tanks in his home and began pearl farming. He has already sold three hundred pearls within the same year to a dealer in Hyderabad with some help from a friend.
Minister of Fisheries, Ports, and Inland Water Transport, S Agara had spoken about the possibilities of freshwater pearl farming and the farmer had gotten the idea from there. He decided to explore the options coming up with growing mussels in freshwater to harvest pearls.
"The minister discussed various government schemes to help farmers generate additional income, including pearl farming. Following that, I studied the guidelines on pearl farming given by the Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Bengaluru," He stated. He then proceeded with an initial investment of Rs. 25,000 and constructed the tanks. He said that freshwater pearl farming did not require much investment and while there were many species of mussels available, only a few were suitable for pearl farming.
The tanks with a capacity of 5000l each had been lined with plastic sheets under them to prevent water evaporation. Initially, he had purchased around 500 mussels from Bengaluru and placed them in trays in the tank. He said that pearl farming required scientific knowledge, including cleaning the tank and protecting it from direct sunlight. The tanks needed to be cleaned once a week. Further, proper care for the mussels is necessary which can produce up to two pearls in 12 months.
Moreover, Naveen has also been harboring ornamental fishes in his tank. He said that aquaculture could be taken up along with pearl farming if bigger tanks were built.
