Knowledge was shared among the farmers on Murrel fish and how to go in for sustainable farming techniques
Biofloc Bharat recently conducted a workshop on Biofloc fish farming in the Vijayapura district of Karnataka. The event was supported by the district administration as well as the Department of Fisheries, Government of Karnataka. This endeavour of Biofloc Bharat’s was sponsored by Growel Feeds.
The workshop was held in two sessions. The first session was held at Hotel Town Palace and post-lunch all attendees and distinguished guests were taken to Biofloc Bharat’s facility project to witness the harvesting of Murrel fish (snakehead) from Biofloc tanks.
Meaningful insights were shared about Biofloc fish farming. Technical aspects of Biofloc technology were simplified for all the participants who seemed curious to know more about the novel method of fish farming. The advantages of Biofloc fish farming and best management practices were also discussed.
Commander PC Dash (Retd) from Biofloc Bharat informed the farmers about various government schemes and policies on Biofloc fish farming. Schemes under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY) were emphasised upon.
Dr Rajshekhar Williams, Joint Director in Agriculture Department, Government of Karnataka was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Shripad Kulkarni JD fisheries, Belagavi was the guest of honour. Dr S Vijayakumar, Prof. & Head FRIC, Bhutnal, Vijayapura explained about Biofloc fish farming to the farmers in the Kannada language. Shrisail Ganganalli, the Deputy Director of Fisheries, in charge of the Vijayapura District of Karnataka also addressed the farmers. Dr KN Prabhudeva, Ex-Director of Extension & Prof & Head FRIC, Hebbal, answered queries raised by the inquisitive farmers.
Ramesh H Metri, Siddappa M Hegadyal and Raj Ahmed M Hullur, the successful Biofloc fish farmers from Bijapur district explained their farming experience and urged other fish farmers to migrate to this new technology as it is more sustainable.
Gautam Bhandari from Growel Feeds attended the event and attended the queries raised by farmers. A lengthy Q&A session was held.
During one of the sessions, a tank was completely drained out of the water and well-grown Murrel fishes were revealed which was a centre of attraction throughout the day. The farm located in the interiors of Vijayapura district is one of the most remote locations of Biofloc Bharat. The team had to deal with frequent power cuts and water shortages too. During the construction of the farm, there were delays due to the covid pandemic challenges.
After the first successful culture, farm owners Ramesh Metri and Sidappa Hegadyal decided to install and manage 50 more tanks under the guidance of Biofloc Bharat.
