Pisciculture in Andhra turns the corner

Fishing in clear waters

Pisciculture farmers have a reason to smile. For, the days of fishing in troubled waters seem to be fading. As this fiscal is coming to a close, about 30,000 pisciculture farmers, who incurred heavy losses in 2002 to 2004, have posted about Rs 12,000 profit per acre.

They cultivated about six lakh tonnes of fish from tanks, spread over one lakh acres in villages along the border of Krishna and West Godavari districts, and made a business of Rs 2,500 crore.

However, during the two adverse years, the small farmers, drowned in irrecoverable losses and unable to bear a massive investment of Rs 80,000 per acre, vanished from fish farming.

The middle-class farmers barely managed fish cultivation this year. Their earnings just equalled the amounts they paid as advance lease and interest. So it was a no-loss, no-gain business for them.

The small farmers could earn Rs 12,000 advance lease per acre by giving their tanks on lease to other farmers and private companies.

However, it was the big farmers and corporate companies, controlling 60 per cent of fish cultivation, who made huge profits. Individual farmers now control only 40 per cent of fish farming.

Pisciculture Farmers' Consortium president M V S Nagi Reddy told Business Standard that farmers realised profits mainly because of the significant fall in feed rates. The production for 2004-05 declined as small farmers were eliminated, he said, adding that the farmers netted about one lakh tonnes less fish than what they usually produced.

But, the rate at Rs 29 per kg had been fairly good for most of the year, though it fell to Rs 28 recently. The slump in consumer demand during 2003-04 and 2002-03 had been compensated by the scare created among consumers by bird flu.

Consumers did not touch chicken for three to four months and the situation only favoured the fish market, boosting the per kg rate along with sales.

The release of water from Nagarjuna Sagar too helped the fish farmers.

Though things are looking bright at the moment, Reddy fears a crisis in water supply during the ensuing kharif and a crash in fish price below Rs 28 per kg in the coming days may hit the business. Fish feed rates may also rise, he said.

A rupee decrease in fish price would deprive farmers of Rs 4,000 per acre. The price is now Rs 28, a rupee less than this year's average of Rs 29. Another two-rupee decrease in fish price would make farmers go bankrupt again.

The number of farmers may also go up in 2005-06 as their counterparts have made profits this fiscal. This would boost production and push down fish prices. If a farmer wants to make profits in fish rearing now, he should raise the culture in at least 10 acres, he said.

Reddy also urged for more help from the government. The fish farmers pay two types of taxes, one under agriculture and another under industry.

Their plea to place the sector in one of them has fallen on deaf ears. They still continue to harvest cheaply priced fish rich in high proteins, he said.