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HomePosts Tagged "ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA)"
Acquaculture, Agri Genomics, AgroPolicy, India

Field trials conducted in Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, and Maharashtra demonstrated the improved Catla’s ability to reach an average weight of 1.8 kg in polyculture systems.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh  launched “Amrit Catla,” a genetically improved variety of Catla (Labeo catla), at the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar. The National Freshwater Fish Brood Bank (NFFBB) of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) received the Amrit Catla, ensuring its wider distribution and availability for farmers across the country. This development represents a significant milestone in freshwater aquaculture and aligns with the institute’s efforts to enhance fish seed quality for India’s growing fish farming community.

ICAR-CIFA began a selective breeding program in 2010 to improve the body weight of Catla at harvest, addressing the need for high-quality fish seed. The program collected nine strains of Catla, sourced from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. These strains were utilised as the base population for the selective breeding program. Through the Combined Family Selection method, the breeding process was guided by phenotypic information and microsatellite markers. Superior animals were selected based on breeding value, and after four generations of breeding, a 15 per cent genetic gain per generation was achieved, leading to a cumulative gain of 35 per cent by the third generation. Field trials conducted in Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, and Maharashtra demonstrated the improved Catla’s ability to reach an average weight of 1.8 kg in polyculture systems, compared to 1.2 kg for local strains in one year. Recently, the “Amrit Catla” project received national recognition with the Best Technology Award at the 96th ICAR Foundation and Technology Day on July 16, 2024, and was officially trademarked as “CIFA-Amrit Catla” on August 1, 2024.

In his address, Rajiv Ranjan Singh emphasised the Ministry’s commitment to scaling up research initiatives. He assured that the Ministry would provide substantial support for research endeavours in the fisheries sector to ensure sustainable growth and enhanced productivity. He also highlighted that the Ministry has recently declared ICAR-CIFA as the Nucleus Breeding Center for freshwater fishes, further solidifying its role in the development of high-quality fish seed in India.

The event was attended by George Kurian, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs, along with senior officials and stakeholders from the fisheries sector. The release of “Amrit Catla” underscores the government’s dedication to advancing aquaculture practices, ensuring quality fish seed supply, and boosting the nation’s fish farming industry.

Field trials conducted in Odisha, West Bengal,

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Digital Technologies, India

The app is designed to meet the growing needs of the ornamental fisheries sector, providing crucial knowledge resources for hobbyists, aquarium shop owners, and fish farmers.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh launched the “Rangeen Machhli” mobile app at ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar. Developed by ICAR-CIFA with support from the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the app is designed to meet the growing needs of the ornamental fisheries sector, providing crucial knowledge resources for hobbyists, aquarium shop owners, and fish farmers.

The “Rangeen Machhli” app provides multilingual information on popular ornamental fish species in eight Indian languages, making it accessible to a wide audience. Whether hobbyists are seeking guidance on fish care or farmers looking to diversify their breeds, the app offers comprehensive details on care, breeding, and maintenance practices. One of its key features is the “Find Aquarium Shops” tool, which allows users to locate nearby aquarium shops through a dynamic directory updated by shop owners, promoting local businesses and connecting users with reliable sources for ornamental fish and aquarium-related products. In addition, the app includes educational modules for both newcomers and professionals in the ornamental fish industry. The “Basics of Aquarium Care” module covers essential topics such as types of aquariums, fishes, water filtration, lighting, feeding, day to day maintenance, while the “Ornamental Aquaculture” module focuses on breeding, rearing of different ornamental fish. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play store from this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ornamentalfish

During his address, Rajiv Ranjan Singh highlighted the increasing importance of the ornamental fisheries sector, stating that the Ministry is placing a strong emphasis on its development, recognizing the sector’s potential for generating employment and contributing to the economy. He also stated that aquarium hobby has to be promoted in a bigger way in the country.

The app is designed to meet the

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, IT, Live Stock

The online marketplace will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seeds, feed, medicines, etc.

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, launched the Online Market Place feature “Aqua Bazar” in the “MatsyaSetu” mobile app during the 9th general body meeting of the National Fisheries Development Board. The app was developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The online marketplace will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seeds, feed, medicines, etc., and services required for fish culture as well as farmers can also list their table-size fish for sale. The marketplace aims to connect all stakeholders in the aquaculture sector.

While addressing the gathering, Parshottam Rupala, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, stated that capacity building of fish farmers should be given top priority. Intensive training courses should be organized and exposure visits should be organized for the farmers.

ICAR-CIFA and NFDB have developed this digital platform to bring all the stakeholders to one place. Through this platform, any registered vendor can list their input materials. The listed items will be displayed in the marketplace based on geographical proximity to the app user. The listings are categorized into the following major categories; fish seeds, input materials, services, jobs, and table fish. Every listing will contain detailed information about the product, price, available quantity, supply area, etc. along with the seller’s contact details. The needy farmers/stakeholders can contact the vendors and fulfil their procurements.

 The feature also allows the fish farmers to list their grown table-size fish/fish seeds for sale with an option to indicate the date of availability along with the price offer. Interested fish buyers will contact the farmers and offer their prices. It will certainly help the farmers to receive more business enquiries from buyers or buyer agents who procure fish, paving the way for increased awareness about the market situation and better price realization of farmers’ produce.

The online marketplace will help the fish