By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 26: Fish farmers in Meghalaya need urgent training to boost local production and reduce dependency on fish imports, according to a new study conducted in the West Garo Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.
The study, published in Indian Journal of Extension Education and carried out by a team of researchers from ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, assessed the training needs of 90 fish farmers across eight villages.
It found that most farmers were middle-aged, had only secondary education, limited experience in fish farming and earned modest incomes — with 83% making less than 50,000 a year from it.
The findings show that while Meghalaya has abundant natural resources for fisheries, poor knowledge in scientific fish farming is a major hurdle.
Aquaculture, hatchery management, nursery care and disease control emerged as the top areas where farmers needed urgent training.
Other important areas identified were pond construction, fish processing, recreational fisheries and the use of social media and mobile apps for farming information.
Meghalaya currently produces around 0.019 million tonnes of fish annually, which is far below local demand. As a result, fish has to be imported from states like Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam.
However, experts believe that better training and capacity building could change this.
“Proper scientific training in fish farming is the key to increasing production and ensuring self-sufficiency,” said the researchers. They recommended special focus on carp culture, disease management, broodstock maintenance and local hatchery development.
The study also revealed that farmers with smaller ponds and less experience were the ones who needed training the most. In contrast, farmers with higher incomes and better access to information showed a stronger interest in learning advanced techniques.
Researchers pointed out that traditional practices are still dominant in the state, with farmers hesitant to adopt modern equipment due to high costs.
However, there is growing interest in learning about fish preservation, value addition and marketing through digital platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
The study concludes that targeted, location-specific training programmes are crucial to unlock the fisheries sector’s full potential in Meghalaya.
Building farmers’ skills in areas like disease diagnosis, pond management, hatchery operations and business skills could significantly boost production and improve livelihoods in the state.