RAJSHAHI, July 29, 2022 (BSS)- Climate-resilient technology has become a boon for many of the fish farmers as they are getting extra-profit from their respective fish farming ventures despite the adverse impact of climate change in the region, including its vast Barind tract.

The beneficiaries have brought a revolutionary change in fish farming since their adoption of climate-resilient methods and yielded significant production, particularly in Paba Upazila.

Farmers and development activists came up with the observation while addressing a post-rally dialogue held at Ashrai Training and Resource Centre in Paba Upazila to mark the National Fisheries Week 2022 Thursday.

Ashrai hosted the programme in association with Sustainable Enterprise Project (SEP) supported by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and the World Bank.

Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Muhammad Asaduzzaman, Ashrai Deputy Director Jasim Uddin, Project Environment Officer Arafat Islam, Documentation Officer Syed Tanvir Islam, Technical Officer Saad Ahmad and Finance and Procurement Officer Kaisar Ahmed addressed the meeting.

Capacity-building interventions of the SEP ensured 30 percent of women's participation and raised income informally by adopting the lucrative climate-resilient technology in the fish farming sector.

Subsequently, a group of 25 ethnic minority women leased a pond at Amnura in Chapainawabganj harness and obtained success through applying natural ecosystem-based feeding techniques contributing a lot to boosting households' income.

An unemployed group of 11 members has been developed amid promotion of kole fish culture at Mohanonda river in the same district and they are running the initiative in a self-driving manner.

Various types of climate resilience technology, including cage fish culture, bioflok fish culture, bottom clean aquaculture, pen fish culture and ecosystem-based feeding technique, are being promoted with intervention of the project being implemented in three Upazilas of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts.

An environment-friendly fish market has been established at Kharkhari area coping with the gradually rising yield of fish together with expanding its capacity to deal around 50 to 60 tons daily.  

Fish farmers and traders were given amenities, including a digital meter for measuring, personal protection equipment for personal safety, easy access and ice for preservation, for hygienic and safe post-harvest management of fish.

The environment-friendly fish farmers were also provided the scopes of easy access to loans, doorstep technical support with digital water quality testing kit, demonstration as an inspiration package on climate-resilience technologies and exchanging fish productions using its value chain services.

Syed Tanvir Islam told BSS that the promotional activities inspire the target group of people towards transportation of live and safe fish food to the consumers' level.

As a whole, the project is intended to build an environmentally friendly fish farming industry and improve the lives of fish farmers by creating a large marketplace of their production in the context of international standards.