Awareness cum Input Distribution Program Held for Fish Farmers of Sikkim and West Bengal

The ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI), Barrackpore, West Bengal in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries (DoF), Govt. of Sikkim organized an awareness cum input distribution program in Gangtok, Sikkim on 12 June 2024.

Inputs such as FRP tanks and accessories for starting up ornamental fisheries in the state were distributed among 52 beneficiaries in the 5 (Gangtok, Soreng, Geyzing, Namchi, and Mangan) districts of Sikkim under the SCSP and NEH program of the institute.

The program was organized under the overall guidance of Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore; Ms. Roshni Rai, Secretary, DoF, Sikkim Guwahati and Mr. K. K. Shrestha, Director, DoF, Sikkim. It was attended by 50 participants including Director and Scientists from ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore; Secretary, DoF, Govt of Sikkim; Director and Joint Director, DoF, Sikkim; DoF officials from all 5 districts and fish farmers of Sikkim.

The day-long program started with a welcome address by Ms. N. Sharma, Scientist, ICAR-CIRI, RC, Guwahati. Dr.  B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI in his welcoming speech explained the purpose of the program and discussed the importance of ornamental fisheries in the state.

Ms. Roshni Rai, Secretary, DoF, Govt. of Sikkim appreciated ICAR-CIFRI for supporting ornamental fish farmers of the state and creating awareness among the farmers about how ornamental fisheries can be additional sources of income along with food fish farming. Sri Lobsang Tamang, Joint Director, DoF, Sikkim also expressed his gratitude to ICAR-CIFRI for supporting the ornamental fish farmers of Sikkim by giving inputs for ornamental fisheries start-up.

A technical session was held by the Scientists of ICAR-CIFRI to discuss ornamental fisheries setup, breeding of ornamental fishes, and fish health management. The program ended with a vote of thanks and input distribution of FRP tanks, ornamental fish seeds (Goldfish and Koi carps), fish feed, and all necessary accessories for the development of ornamental fisheries in Sikkim state.

An awareness program along with input distribution was also organized by ICAR-CIFRI under the SCSP program at Sittong with the vision of upscaling the socio-economic condition of rural hill communities, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) is promoting the Amur Carp fish farming for strengthening their livelihood under the leadership of Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI.

In this program, ICAR-CIFRI distributed 50000 Amur Carp seeds to 50 beneficiaries including 10 women fishermen from Sittong and Mongpu of Darjeeling district of West Bengal.