Sustainable Aquaculture: Kings Infra to Provide Training to 5,000 Farmers in Coastal Regions

India’s coastal aquaculture industry will be transformed by ecologically sustainable aquaculture based on symbiotic technology.

Aquaculture based on symbiotic technology is a guaranteed approach to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of doubling aqua farmers' income, according to Dr. G Sugumar, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University (TNJFU).

He was speaking after launching a project at Chippikulam, near Thoothukudi, on standardised pond-based culture techniques for commercially significant marine finfishes and pond-based RAS for vannamei shrimp.

Dr. Sugumar stated that the” initiative established by Kings Infra in association with the University to promote the project would enable the aquaculture farming practise in the country become truly sustainable. The recirculated aquaculture system (RAS) enables farmers to use water to the greatest extent feasible while minimizing waste by turning it to another resource.”

The project, promoted by Kings Infra Ventures Ltd, a technology-driven sustainable aquaculture company, in collaboration with TNJFU, aims to integrate seaweed culture, oyster farming, and various fish varieties, facilitating for the consumption of leftover feeds and biological waste from shrimp farms in order to generate additional resources and eliminate wastes completely in shrimp farms. The strategy would significantly minimise diseases risk and increase the profitability of coastal aquaculture.

Farmers will be trained in these pond-based sustainable aquaculture practices as part of the initiative. Small and marginal farmers would be the primary beneficiaries of the venture, as it would provide them with on-farm technology training.

According to the joint venture, the TNJFU will do the research and analysis, while Kings Infra will handle the infrastructure and funds required to demonstrate the technology.

Shaji Baby John, Chairman and Managing Director of Kings Infra, stated during the inauguration ceremony that the company aims to train over 5,000 farmers in the coastal region using the technologies produced under this joint collaborative project.

He emphasized the necessity of doubling farmers' income for economic growth, saying that ecologically sustainable aquaculture provides the best opportunity for coastal farmers to realise their dream of increasing their income.

The joint venture would create a standard technology for establishing the framework for sustainable aquaculture technology in a step-by-step manner, taking into account the relevant scientific inputs and technological needs. "The project's inauguration is another milestone in the process," he remarked. The next step would be to establish a knowledge-sharing platform to disseminate the developed technology to the farming community, as well as to give on-farm training, he explained.

Kings Infra, based in Kochi, has long advocated for environmentally sustainable aquaculture for many years as part of its commitment to increasing productivity and farmer income.

Aquaculture has enormous growth potential because it contributes 49 percent of global demand for human consumption of fish. In fiscal year 2021, aquaculture shrimp provided 74% of the value of Indian seafood exports worth Rs.43717cr.