FF FF DD AA IISSHH AARRMMEERRSS EEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT GGEENNCCYY MMEEGGHHAALLAAYYAA MEGHALAYA STATE AQUACULTURE MISSION From Dependence to Self-sufficiency 2012-2017 Dr. Mukul Sangma Office : 0364-2224282 PABX : 2200 Chief Minister Fax : 0364-2227913 (R) 2522752 MEGHALAYA MESSAGE The “Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Promotion Programme” (IBDLPP), the Flagship Programme of the State Government will redefine our developmental investment strategy, opening up windows for new and multifaceted livelihood opportunities under which number of mission mode developmental interventions are being initiated including associated measures – the State Aquaculture Mission is one of the Mission Mode Interventions of this Flagship Programme. With the release of the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM) document, an important episode in Meghalaya’s developmental history will have begun. The simple yet powerful slogan of the Mission: ‘From Dependence to Self-sufficiency’, captures very eloquently what we seek to achieve through this Mission. It is an irony of sorts that a state with such high precipitation and large landmass should have an annual fish deficit of more than 15,000 M.T. Any action plan for addressing such a huge demand-supply gap should not just be aggressive, but it would also have to be in a Mission mode. The approach and the attitude of the implementers would have to be very different. As the conventional implementation frameworks of the government will not suffice, a conscious decision has been taken by the Government of Meghalaya to launch the Meghalaya State Aquaculture th Mission, to be implemented co-terminus with the 12 Five Year Plan and make the state not just self-sufficient, but even acquire the capability to export fish within and outside the country. It is my belief that the Mission will not just address the deficit of fresh water table-fish, it will also resolve several of the unemployment issues that are plaguing the rural areas of the state. The ancillary services that will develop through better fish seed and feed supply and proper disease management practices, as also door-step delivery, will productively engage rural people in the fisheries sector on a sustainable basis. As I see it, this Mission has tremendous potential to transform the rural landscape of Meghalaya. Now that we are commencing the implementation of the Mission, several organizational and managerial challenges will arise and the officials will need to stay the course and move forward with perseverance and fortitude. Though this Mission document is very comprehensive, I visualize new opportunities emerging in the fisheries sector, as we move along. The Mission is supple enough to accommodate emerging opportunities and has the requisite administrative elasticity. This is a Mission and therefore has to be implemented with great speed. I am certain that the Department of Fisheries will gear up to manage this challenge ahead of them. Sustained Government support to the Department of Fisheries to achieve the objective will be ensured. I wish them and the people of Meghalaya great success! 21.02.2012 Message by the Chief Secretary, Shri W.M.S. Pariat, IAS It is quite disheartening to note that we are, per force, dependent upon other states for even our consumption requirements of table fish. That is despite the fact that our population is small and we have ample water, land and skilled people. Admittedly, one of the major reasons behind the current state of affairs had been the lack of significant investments in the fisheries sector over the years, leading to a negative cycle of inaction and non-performance. All that however is now past. Now we are looking ahead with great energy and vision to make Meghalaya self sufficient in fresh water fish production and to reduce our dependence on other states. It is however, easier said than done, because the deficit is assessed to be more than 15000 M.T.s and it may take years before we can fulfil our dream. It requires careful planning, systematic execution and great and sustained dedication on the part of the officials of the Fisheries Department. I am happy that the department has a group of dedicated and young officers who are up to the challenge and are raring to prove that their department will be next to none in terms of efficient implementation of the mission. I know that the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission Document has been prepared by following a very rigorous protocol of public consultation and departmental scrutiny. I too had been present in a few such consultation sessions. The fisheries department had been quite open in its approach to solicit suggestions in improving the document at various stages. Despite that, there will still be issues which will have to be resolved at the field level and learned through experience. The document can be suitably adapted in due course of time, by way of executive instructions wherever necessary. That said, the final document has come up well and I compliment the officers who have spent several sleepless hours in going through the fine print and coming up with the final document. I wish them all success in the implementation phase, which quite understandably, is going to be a stupendous task. I wish the officers of the fisheries department a great success in fulfilling the dream of the people of Meghalaya to become self sufficient in fisheries. Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission Contents Page No. Messages Executive Summary Chapter I Introduction and Objectives 1 Chapter II Approach of the Mission 11 Chapter III Mini Mission I: Area and Productivity Expansion 17 1. Area Expansion through individual ponds 18 2. Area Expansion through community water bodies 22 3. Productivity enhancement through reclamation of marshy, 24 swampy areas and Bheels 4. Stocking of fingerlings in Reservoirs, Lakes and other smaller 25 water bodies Chapter IV Mini Mission II: Critical Infrastructure Development 33 1. Fish seed production through Government Hatcheries 34 2. Fish seed production through Private Hatcheries 39 3. Fish seed production through FRP technology 41 4. Fish seed production through Israeli Technology 43 5. Fish feed production through private entrepreneurs 43 6. Fish Disease Management- Establishing Laboratories 46 7. Pre and Post- Harvesting infrastructure 48 8. Creation and strengthening of the Fishery and Multi- purpose Co- 55 operatives Chapter V Mini Mission III: Establishing sanctuaries for conserving 65 indigenous and endemic species 1. Surveys for identifying the endangered species 66 2. Media Campaigns specific to Conservation 66 3. Orientation workshops for the villages with potential 68 4. Development of fish sanctuaries in the state 69 Page No. Chapter VI Mini Mission IV: Capacity building and Human Resource 73 Development 1. Building the capacities of stakeholders 73 a. Training and Exposure visits for the officials of the Fisheries 74 Department and the FFDA b. Training and Exposure visits for the Fish farmers 74 c. Training and Exposure visits for the Programme Managers 75 and Multiple Service Providers d. Upgrading the capacities of the Fish Co-operators 77 e. Entrepreneurship development in the fisheries sector 77 2. Creating /Strengthening training infrastructure 78 3. Awards to fish farmers and incentives to departmental officers 79 Chapter VII Mini Mission V: Mass media campaign, Documentation and 81 Outreach 1. Mass Mobilization Campaigns 81 2. Publicity through mass media campaigns 83 3. Outreach Programmes for mass mobilisation 85 4. Documentation of Mission’s activities 87 Chapter VIII Mini Mission VI: Emerging opportunities in the Fisheries Sector 93 1. Ornamental / aquarium fisheries 93 2. Trout farming 95 3. Introduction of Freshwater prawn culture 97 4. Introduction of new Table species 99 5. Aqua tourism/ Aqua parks/Sport fisheries 107 Chapter IX Convergence of Aquaculture Mission with other schemes, 109 agencies and departments Chapter X MIS and Knowledge Management 117 Chapter XI Monitoring and Evaluation 127 Chapter XII Economic Appraisal of Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission 133 Chapter XIII Implementation Process and Mechanism 145 Chapter XIV Engaging the Civil Society in the Aquaculture Mission 149 Chapter XV Sourcing of the Funds and Assistance management under the 153 Mission End Notes and Acknowledgements 155 Executive Summary Meghalaya with its vast inland fishery resources offers tremendous scope for developing the fisheries sector, but lags behind in harnessing the potential of these natural resources. Though the state is predominantly a fish consuming State, the supply of fish is inadequate to meet its growing demand, making the State import fish from Andhra Pradesh. The Government of Meghalaya has identified fisheries as a key sector and has decided to launch the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM) co-terminus with the Twelfth Five Year Plan period (2012-13 to 2016-17). The MSAM has the following major objectives: a) Development of existing water bodies and creation of additional water area for large scale fish production, including reclamation/rehabilitation of marshy and swampy lands, b) Conservation of native, endangered and traditional species of Meghalaya and developing breeding farms of commercially potential species on a large scale, c) Creation of mass awareness, capacity building, exposure training and skill development of all the stakeholders and technical support for long term sustainability of fishery sector, d) Capturing emerging opportunities in the fisheries sector. Given the wide canvas, the Aquaculture Mission is divided into six Mini Missions for better focus and ease of implementation. Mini Mission I is related to “Area and Productivity Expansion”, which will be achieved through four sub components, viz., individual pond construction, community pond construction, development of marshy and swampy areas and bheels and reservoir fishery development. Mini Mission II is for “Critical infrastructure development”, which has five components: fish seed production, fish feed production, fish disease management, pre and post harvesting infrastructure and creation and strengthening of fishery and multi-purpose co- operatives. Fish seed production will be achieved through Government and private hatcheries and utilizing FRP technology as also inducting Israeli technology. Establishing sanctuaries for conserving indigenous and endemic species of fish is the focus of Mini Mission III. Surveys for identifying the endangered species, orientation workshops and media campaigns will be organised under the Mission. The Mission will collaborate with the Department of Tourism for boosting the objectives and targets of the Mission related to Mahaseer and other native species conservation. Mini Mission IV is for “Capacity Building” of farmers as well as officials, programme managers, multi-service providers, co-operators, etc. Mass mobilization campaigns and skill trainings for unemployed youth will be organised under this mini mission. Mini Mission V is titled “Mass media campaigns, documentation and outreach”, which will take care of two important activities, viz., awareness building about the Mission and publicity among the public and process documentation of the implementation and preparation of success stories. Mini Mission VI deals with “Emerging opportunities in the fisheries sector”, which is an exclusive visionary component envisaged for tapping the emerging opportunities and addressing them with scientific backstopping. Ornamental fisheries, trout farming, introduction of freshwater prawn culture and new table species of fish and aqua tourism/ aqua parks/ sport fisheries will be the components under this mini mission. The Aquaculture Mission will have functional convergence with programmes like MGNREGS, RKVY, NRLM, etc and thematic convergence with line departments like Water Resources, Soil and water conservation, Tourism, etc. The Mission proposes to develop a Management Information System vested with the responsibility to collect, store and retrieve relevant and timely information for planning, executing, monitoring and evaluating the Mission. Monitoring and evaluation will be an integral part of the project design, as they provide an opportunity for intervention during implementation and mid-course corrections. The approach of the Mission to engage civil society players can help serve the interests of the people of the state. The social cost benefit analysis of the various components has been worked out to understand the income gains to farmers, employment gains and other gains to the society at large. The total requirement of funds for the Mission for implementing the various components has also been tentatively worked out and the possible share that could be mobilized from different sources such as RKVY, NFDB, NEC, NCDC, SPA, State Plan, etc has been elaborated. The successful implementation of the Mission can result in balancing the demand and supply of fish in the state, thus achieving self-sufficiency. There is even possibility for export once the production of fish exceeds demand. The impact of the scheme on employment generation will be quite significant. The Aquaculture Mission is an integral part of the Integrated Basin Development and Livelihood Programme of the Government of Meghalaya and it is estimated that the investment of about ` 1200.00 crore would be required over the 12th Plan Period. The Mission will be launched co- terminus with the 12th Five Year Plan. Chapter I Introduction and Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1. India is now the second largest producer of fresh water fish in the world. Fisheries sector occupies an important place in the socio-economic development of the country. It is a powerful income and employment generator as it stimulates growth of a number of subsidiary industries and is a source of cheap and nutritious food besides being a foreign exchange earner. Most importantly, it is a source of livelihood for 14.49 million economically backward people in the country. The contribution of fisheries to the agricultural GDP as well as overall GDP has been showing a rising trend. 2. Meghalaya with its vast inland fishery resources in the form of rivers, reservoirs, lakes and ponds and an average rainfall of 1200 mm offers tremendous scope for developing the fisheries sector, but lags behind in harnessing the potential of these natural resources. The available land in most parts of Meghalaya is uneven in terrain that makes it somewhat difficult to develop fisheries on commercial lines. However, rain water can be impounded in small ponds for the production of fish and inland fisheries therefore does offer a potential that can be successfully exploited by the people of the state. 3. Meghalaya is predominantly a fish consuming State, but the supply of fish is inadequate to meet its growing demand in the State. The internal demand for fish far outweighs the supply making the State import fish from Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, catching of fish in the rivers, lakes, flood prone water bodies, tanks and ponds has always formed the rural livelihoods and a base for food security. Creation of additional water area for fish culture must lead to a transformation in the rural economy and improve the livelihoods of the poor tremendously. To state a little dramatically, neither land, nor water, nor people are in short supply for undertaking the task. The sector only needs public and private investment to flow in. 4. The Government of Meghalaya has identified fisheries as a key sector and decided to assist the people to develop fish ponds. It has decided to launch the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM) co-terminus with the Twelfth Five Year Plan period (2012-13 to 2016-17). This chapter introduces the subject, after elaborating the status of the fisheries sector in the State. An analysis of the fish production in the State and its contribution to the state agricultural income as well as the Gross State Domestic Product is made. The objectives of the Mission, the demand projections for fish in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Five Year Plan periods are presented and a brief summary and conclusions of the chapter are provided at the end of the chapter. 1 1.2 Fish Production in Meghalaya 1. The State has great potential for the development of fisheries. The NRSA data reveal that a large extent of area is available for fish production. But there are no firm estimates of the production of fish in the State. The major reason is the absence of any reliable study on the fish production in the State. There are several water bodies in the State, but in the absence of a census, it is difficult to estimate fish production. The solution is to list all the small ponds village-wise with details on the current status of each. The Mission identifies this as one of its activities during the period. The Mission seeks to derive firm estimates of fish production and consumption in the State so that more appropriate choices are made by the planners and policy makers. 2. The available data with all its limitations show that the State produced about 4500 MT of fish during 2010-12. The trends indicate stagnation in fish production since the beginning of 1990s. Fish Production ('ooo tons) 7 6 6.2 5.4 5.6 5.5 5 5 5.1 5 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.3 4.5 4 4 4.1 4 4 3.6 3 2 1 0 3. The production of fingerlings has also not shown any growth except in the last three years. The number of fingerlings produced in the State increased from 10.0 lakh in 2006-07 to 29.6 lakh in 2010-11. This threefold increase in the production of fingerlings in just four years is an indication that the sector is on the process of growth and this has mainly happened due to the financial support provided for the sector Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The impact of this on production and productivity of fish will be felt with a lag. 4. The state has 14 fish seed farms. There has been no increase in the nursery area till 2007-08. However, investments made under RKVY have resulted in some increase in the nursery area. The estimated Bheel and Lake area is 399.6 hectares and water area suitable for composite fish farming is 404.6 hectares. These estimates appear to be on the lower side and reliable data will have to be collected. 2 Production of Fry and Fingerlings ('000) 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 5. The State experienced the highest population growth rate among the Indian States (2.5 percent per annum) during 2001-11. As a result of this high population growth and stagnation in production, per capita availability of fish within the State has declined. Stagnation in fish production has also resulted in declining contribution of the sector to GSDP from agriculture as well as overall GSDP. The share of fisheries in total agricultural GSDP is only 1.15 per cent as against 5.20 per cent at the national level in the year 2010-11. Its share in GSDP is quite low at 0.21 per cent while the corresponding proportion at the national level is four times higher. The reason for stagnation in fish production in the recent period despite the expansion of area under fish ponds by 500 hectares under the “Thousand Pond Scheme” is not clear. Weak data collection effort on the part of the department could be one of the reasons. As the private ponds are also in remote areas, there has been no systematic effort to collect the data from private fish ponds, and hence it is quite possible that the production figures are a bit suppressed. 6. Data on consumption is more reliable than production data because the former is available from the National Sample Surveys. According to the 61st round of the National Sample Survey pertaining to 2004-05, per capita annual consumption of fish is 6.425 kg per capita in Meghalaya as against 7.096 kg at the national level. If the same level of consumption is considered for 2011, the total consumption in the State is estimated at 19,000 MT. The gap between demand and supply will be about 14,500 MT. 1.3 Objectives of Aquaculture Mission 1. Given the wide gap between demand and supply, the development of fishery sector is a priority item in the planning process of the State Government to exploit the full potential of the sector which would help in increasing the supply as well as ensuring the economic prosperity and livelihood security of the rural poor in the State. Realizing this, the Government of Meghalaya introduced a scheme known as ‘Thousand Pond Scheme’ (TPS) 3