Fish Farming in Plastic Tank

  

Fish farming in pond is a relatively new practice in the rural area of Makawanpur. It is further strange in Chepang community although they are popular in fishing in natural rivers and lakes. Mr. Arde Singh Praja perhaps is the first person from Chepang community who demonstrated a successful project on fish farming in Kankada of Makawanpur, Nepal. Since its successful harvest many other Chepang families are attracted in fish farming programme in Kankada and peripherals.
Learned fish farming in plastic water harvest tanks from ICIMOD demonstration farm in Godavari, MDI staff Mr. Ram Krishna Praja initiated this demonstration project in Kankada. He suggested Mr. Arde Singh Praja to do this job. Mr. Arde dug a 1 m depth pond with 9.30 m in length and 7.30 m width. This area is the one seventh of a ropani of land. Ram Krishna provided him silpaulin plastic for this pond for collection of water. Note that the area is so fragile that water can not be stored without using plastic.
Mr. Arde Praja kept 1300 fingerlings of common carp and Naini in this pond during June, 2008. Out of them some 300 fingerlings died due to lack of proper management. He continued to grow remaining 1000 fingerlings in the pond. In five months period on October 4, 2008 during Dashain festival, he harvested 40 kilograms of fish from this pond and sold it with Rs. 110 per kilogram. Thus, he received Rs. 4,400 from a very small pond of 67.89 m3.
It gives a per Ropani gross income of Rs. 32,405 which is normally higher income than from sales of vegetable crops. From sales of vegetable normally one can receive Rs.10-12 thousand per ropani in this locality. Normally, fisheries activities in Nepal are performed by men. But, his wife Mrs. Pratima Praja was fully involved in feeding fish and pond maintenance which require intensive daily management.
She tells that this is good enterprises for housewives as the feeds can be locally prepared and there are no more technical complexities. We have to feed two times a day and require 100 grams of oilcakes and 300 gms of corn flour each time until three months and 200 gms of oilcakes and 300 gms of corn flour from three months onwards. The quantity of the feeds needs to be gradually increased as the growth of the fingerlings.