Sonmoni Devi, farmer from the Dorongi Village on the south bank of the Brahmaputra, is thrilled to witness more than 100 percent rise in profits from her fish harvest during 2023-2024 compared to the previous year. In rural Assam, India, women are diversifying their farming practices to increase family income, asserting their identities and promoting alternative means of livelihood for the current and future generations.
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Before 2022, Sonmoni sustained her family primarily through agricultural operations. She is now reaping increased profits from fish farming, thanks to the training and demonstration on scientific methods of sustainable aquaculture, provided under the Indo-German development cooperation project 'Food Security through Integrated Aquaculture' (EIAA), which is locally known as Sustainable Aquaculture for Food and Livelihood (SAFAL).
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements the project in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD), Government of India and the State Level Department of Fisheries in Assam and Odisha.
The project aims to enhance the production of fish and fish products from sustainable aquaculture available to the local population and to increase associated incomes and job availability. Additionally, the project seeks assist that experiences in sustainable and resource efficient aquaculture practices are incorporated into government policies and programmes. Like Sonmoni, more than 6000 farmers received technical trainings and capacity building on resource-conserving and efficient management techniques in sustainable aquaculture practices and building their financial literacy. With this the project supports the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) between India and Germany, a joint initiative to promote sustainable development practices for a cleaner and healthier future in India and world over.
As the key focus of GSDP, agro ecology highlights important pillars such as energy efficiency, climate-smart agriculture, environmental conservation, community engagement and social equity. "Before taking the training, the fish from a 0.06-hectare pond were mainly for consumption, and the earnings were limited. Now, I have learnt the essence of fish farming by practising sustainable aquaculture", says Sonmoni Devi. Operating as best as she knew, she used rather ineffective and unclear adaptive methods of fish farming. Comparatively, a lack of understanding of scientific fish farming methods and inaccessibility to resources in the sector is common in rural areas of Assam. However, transformations are underway.
Under the umbrella of the SAFAL project, more than 500 Community Resource Persons (CRPs) from Assam and Odisha have been trained on sustainable aquaculture practices through a stringent training cascade. The CRPs are members of local Farmer Producer Organisations, Farmer Producer Companies, Co-operatives, Producer Groups, or Self-Help Groups (SHGs). CRPs are farmers who supports upto 25 farmers through offering trainings and advise, thus are functioning as multiplier of knowledge and act as an Aquaculture Service Provider. The selection process of CRPs involves conducting a Participatory Research Appraisal, a collaborative research method involving community members in data collection and analysis to ensure the research reflects their perspectives and needs. It is conducted within farmer institutions followed by an intensive capacity building course.
From Borbeel Farmer Producer Company, Nagaon, 20 farmers were selected for the CRP training programme and Sonomi Devi was one amongst them. In Assam CRP training sessions were conducted in the Aquaculture Field School of Kalong Kapili in Bogibari, Kamrup, Assam. Among a total of 14 sessions, the training includes lectures on Pre-Stocking, On Stocking and Post Stocking methods. The training cascade contains basic and advanced modules. It consists of 30 percent classroom and 70 percent hands-on training. Making it accessible to farmers all over, it is designed in a way it can be held without technical and electronic equipment in remote and rural areas. For this, a Farmers Handbook, a Farm Record Book, flipbooks, posters, and pamphlets were co-created among scientists, government officials, experts in sustainable aquaculture practices, aquaculture operators and technical advisors under the SAFAL project.
Fuelled by her entrepreneurial spirit, Sonmoni found that the knowledge from the training sessions is directly applicable to her real fishpond operations. According to her, the most important lesson she learnt was that adequate fish stocking prevents fish overcrowding and consequently inhibits undergrowth. As soon as she completed the training sessions, she forecasted the calculative risk and increased the pond areas up to 0.20 hectares. Setting her plan into action, she took an additional pond on lease for commercial purposes. She stocked 800- 1,200 fingerlings in 0.13-hectare pond, of which all the fishes were alive. Earlier, she used to stock her 0.06-hectare pond with 2000 fingerlings, out of 2000 fingerlings, of which 400 died in a year due to overstocking. In addition, she used to feed rice bran and some leftover food, which she now knows resulted in improper growth, leading to mainly using the fish for selfconsumption.
After the training, she learnt the importance of plankton growth in pond ecosystems and how to enhance it by soaking a mixture of cow dung, Single Super Phosphate (SSP), urea, rice polish, molasses, wheat, mustard oil cake (MOC) for seven days in water. Each evening, she adds a litre of water to the mixture to keep it moist. This mixture is then added to the pond. Additionally, she learnt to prepare fish feed by soaking a blend of rice polish, MOC, corn powder, cow dung, wheat, and molasses for three days before use. Previously unaware, she understands the importance of plankton growth and the correct process for making nutritious fish feed. In the season of 2023-2024, her income is more than double. This increase results from an increased fish production from 150 kilograms to 200 kilograms. Equipped with technical expertise she knows that "the increase in fish production in 2023-2024 is a result of maintaining the natural food system of the pond ecosystem (planktons)," she added. Sonmoni has been a pillar and role model for many in her community. Given Sonmoni's communal spirit and previous success of starting a SHG with ten women in 2004, in 2014, a Village Organisation (VO) comprising 215 women kicked off. She is the President of this VO called Dorongi Gaon Parijaat Gramyo Sangathan.
As a CRP, Sonmoni shares the concept of sustainable aquaculture practices in line with the principles of agroecology and supports 17 aquaculture farmers in the village; out of them, 15 are women. "Receiving the CRP training was a life changing experience, enabling me to earn recognition by disseminating the acquired knowledge in my community while also advancing women's empowerment". says Sonmoni.
(Madhusmita Chowdhury is currently working as a consultant on the SAFAL project with GIZ.)
