About The Project
INTRODUCTION
Aquaculture and Integrated Farming is a multidisciplinary approach to agriculture where along with fish culture, livestock or other agricultural crops are cultivated. Integrated Farming System (IFS) is an interdependent, interrelated often interlocking production systems based on a few crops, animals and related subsidiary enterprises in such a way that maximizes the utilization of nutrients of each system and minimizes the negative effect of these enterprises on the environment. This multidisciplinary approach to agriculture has revolutionized the fish farmers who have small land holding/including a pond. Earlier, fish culture limited to a pond gave a small return. But integrated approach has enabled the fisherman to increase not only the aquaculture production from such small land in terms of fish but also production from livestock and other vegetable crops. And this has enabled the farmer/fisherman to earn more money from a single unit.
PRINCIPLE OF THE INTEGRATED FARMING
Productivity: one of the main benefits of maintaining IFS, to increase yield of different components in terms of per unit area or per unit of cost involved with it.
Profitability: by utilising each other by-product as a raw material of other components reduce cost of cultivation/maintenance as well as enhancing soil fertility for sustainable production, leads a higher BC ratio by managing waste of by-products and full utilization of investment.
Potentiality or Sustainability: In long term aspects, by linking of different components act as organic supplementary through effective utilization of available resources, provides an opportunity to regain potentiality of production.
Environmental Safety: Effectively recycling of waste material as others raw materials through IFS models, thus minimize environment pollution.
Recycling: In IFS, Effective recycling of waste material (crop residues and livestock wastes) helps to make a farm self-sufficient in terms of avoiding outside inputs – fertilizers, agrochemicals, feeds, energy, etc.
Employment Generation: IFS provide enough scope to employ family labour round the year. By combing different enterprises would increase the labour requirement significantly and would help in reducing the problems of underemployment to a great extent.
Agro-industries: When one of produce linked in IFS are increased to commercial level there is surplus value adoption leading to development of allied agro-industries.
Increasing Input Efficiency: IFS provide good scope to use inputs in different component greater efficiency and benefit-cost ratio.
The fish pond at Asutosh College Second Campus is a practical model of the integrated approach of fish culture along with duck culture and agricultural crops to the students and practitioners of Fisheries Science.
THE BEGINNING
The Project started working under leadership of Dr. Dipak Kumar Kar, the Principal of the College, Dr. Chandranath Mukherjee (Department of Statistics) and Dr. Satyam Kundu (Department of Industrial Fish and Fisheries) from 2009.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
- To represent it as a model to the students of Fisheries Science.
- To generate revenue for the college by optimum utilization of resources.
- To augment the aquaculture production.
- To increase the Agricultural production from small land holding.
- To maintain the pond bank clean and stable though the cultivation of agricultural crops throughout the year.
- To utilise the vegetable crops produced throughout the year for the Hostel students, which are provided to the students at subsidised rate.
- To obtain eggs from the duck to be utilised for Hostel students.
- To earn revenue from selling fish.
- To cultivate several varieties of winter vegetables and summer vegetables
The ultimate objective of this project is to maximize the yield of all component enterprises to provide steady and stable income along with the rejuvenation of system's productivity and achieve agro-ecological equilibrium.
DESCRIPTION OF THE POND
The pond at Asutosh College 2nd Campus measures about 7.5 bigha in area. Initially, the pond was not created for fish culture but created for earth filling of adjacent low lands by the sellers of the land. Hence the pond cannot be considered as a true fish culture pond. (from fisheries point of view) due to its high depth.
PROCESS OF CULTURE
- Fish culture operation is done on the basis multiple stocking and multiple harvesting methods.
- Generally fingerlings of Indian and Exotic major carps are released in to the pond after harvesting.
- Generally extensive method of fish culture is being practised here.
- Duck is simultaneously cultured with low expenditure as maximum feed of duck is obtained from the pond.
- Different crops are grown at the pond bank depending upon season.