HT Correspondent
NAGAON, July 12: NABARD Assam RO, along with the College of Fisheries (CoF), Raha, and the Department of Fisheries (DoF), government of Assam, organised an event to celebrate National Fish Farmers’ Day (NFFD) on Wednesday last.
The event took place at the auditorium of CoF, Raha. Keshab Mahanta, minister of Fisheries, Transport, Excise, IT, Science & Technology, local MLA Sashi Kanta Das, the vice-chancellor of Assam Agriculture University Dr BC Deka, chairman of AFDCL Guru Jyoti Das, secretary of DoF Dr Kavyashree Mahanta, director of DoF Gauri Sankar Das, dean of CoF Dr PC Bhuyan, ADC of Nagaon Sauvik Bhuyan, AGM of NABARD Sankar Das, DDM-NABARD Rajendar Perna, and KVK head Dr Niranjan Deka attended the programme as the chief guest and special guests. Additionally, DFDO, SDFDO, all the FMs from CoF, and over 300 fish farmers participated in the programme.
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The event began with a presentation on the activities being undertaken by CoF. Speaking on the occasion, minister Keshab Mahanta congratulated all the fish farmers for their contributions to ensuring nutritional and food security in the State. He suggested that farmers not compromise on the quality of fish and its impact on human health. He indicated that in the present scenario of climate change, the state government will soon come up with the Assam Fish Policy. During the event, he also distributed certificates of merit and fish seeds to selected fish farmers and appreciated NABARD, DoF, and CoF for organising the event.
Local MLA Sashi Kanta Das spoke about various schemes of the DoF for the upliftment of the farming community in the region. Dr BC Deka, vice-chancellor of AAU, highlighted the importance of certification of fish feed and the pivotal role played by AAU in the development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the state. Chairman of AFDCL Guru Jyoti Das also briefed about the prospects of beel fisheries in the state as well as the conservation of indigenous fish species through effective management. Dean of CoF Dr PC Bhuyan spoke about the relevance of NFFD and the role played by the College of Fisheries in nurturing the next generation of faculties, aquapreneurs, human resources, and resolving sector-specific emerging issues.
Speaking on the occasion, AGM of NABARD Sankar Das and DDM-NABARD Rajendar Perna shared in detail the activities undertaken by NABARD for the overall development of the fishery sector in the state and the district. They spoke about the formation of exclusive Fishery FPC in Juria Block, the mobile marketing van provided to FPC, the LEDPs on scientific fish feed making and pearl culture, the collaboration with CoF for establishing Biofloc Fish Farming units, and the proposed DRE & Waste to Wealth management projects.
The event also featured technical sessions on topics like NABARD’s role in strengthening fisheries infrastructure and the welfare of fish farming communities in Assam, prospects of fisheries & aquaculture for self-employment in Assam, etc. After releasing a video message recorded by NABARD OIC Loken Das, dean-CoF Dr PC Bhuyan, and MD, Fishfed Dr DJ Sarma regarding the ongoing breeding season of fish and a request to avoid harvesting of fish during this season, the event concluded with a seed-releasing programme in a community tank at Laophulabori, as stated in a press note here.
