Freshwater Fish Farming in Ponds-A small scale business opportunity

 India is blessed with large number of ponds and rivers. This adds great opportunities for Indian farmers to develop successful career in Inland fish farming.  Even though rivers  are great  source  of   Inland freshwater fishes ,using rivers for fish farming is a great challenge due to various reasons.So it would be more convenient if we can utilize the freshwater ponds available for fish farming.

Among total Inland freshwater fish harvest in India,around 65% fish contribution is from freshwater ponds.But we contribute only around 5% of the global production.So there exists great possibilities for India in this field.The main fact is that we are not utilizing the huge possibilities we have in this farming.

Fish is one of the favourite item in the food menu of almost 60% of Indians.So market demand is always high for fish items.If we consider the global demand also,the total requirement becomes very high.The main source of fish is from the sea.but the global fish harvest from the sea is decreasing rapidly.The only way we can ensure availability of fish to meet increasing demand is through fish farming.Inland freshwater fish farming plays major role here.We have large number of natural ponds here.With a good business plan and decision,we can convert this opportunity to a successful small scale farm.

Preparing The Pond

   The Important Infrastructure we require in this farming is the pond.We can utilize either existing one or we can construct a new one.Ponds are two types. Perennial and seasonal.For Seasonal ponds we have to use quick maturing Fish breeds as the water will not exist the whole year in this ponds.Preparation of ponds involves cleaning the bottom of the pond,fertilizing the pond,optimizing PH value of pond water,checking quality of water such tasks.These are important for high return.The Quality of the Fish produced depends up on the Quality of the pond.

Selection of Fish Breeds

 Selection of Fish breeds plays major role in the sustainability of our business.The decision should be based on market demand,maintenance point of view,availability of resource,effective utilization of resources etc.Carp items such as catla,Rohu,Grass carp,common carp etc are suitable for Indian ponds.Other breeds such as Tilapia,cat fish etc also cultivated in Indian Ponds.Polyculture (growing two or more fish breeds in same pond) is the suitable strategy for optimum utilization of resources.You can get quality fish seeds(baby fishes) from nearest fish farmer or from fisheries department.

Fish Feeding and Maintenance

 Special care must be taken while growing fishes.The water PH value must be 7 to 8 for optimum growth.Chances of virus attacks must be avoided.The  pond should be protected from predators.Daily scouting should be done and suspected fishes should the isolated from pond to avoid spreading of diseases all over the pond.Diseases can be treated by treating water using salt, potassium permanganate solution,chemicals etc.It is better to prevent diseases than curing it.

Marketing

 Local market is the easily available market for majority of farmers.But the profit will be less compared to exporting.Fish meat can be processed to produce value added products and the can be exported to foreign markets.formation of farmers association can help for this marketing.The advantage of local market is that,the selling of fish is not a problem here and farmers can get a decent income.So strength of both markets ensures the success of this farming.Fish farming is becoming one of the main farm field which reduce the unemployment issue in village areas.So opportunity always exists here for those who love fish farming.

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Fish Farming-A Developing Aquaculture Business

 Aquaculture is the term used for farming of organisms living in water.It contains both Marine and fresh water organisms.Here we are going to discuss about fresh water fish farming business.We can divide this business into two types based on the purpose.One is for meat purpose and other is for ornamental purpose.Meat purpose industry plays major role in reducing unemployment in rural areas.Here we can have an introduction about fresh water fish farming for meat purpose.

 We know that fishing from sea is a huge business in India especially in coastal states like Kerala.The main threat that the fishing field now face is that the decrease in availability of fishes in sea and rivers.The price for fish meat also skyrocketing.More and more people use fish meat and its sub-products,but the availability of quality fish products are decreasing.Exporters also have increased demand for fishes.Expanding local and exporting markets leaves huge opportunities for Fish farming business.

Fish farming can be categorized into Three based on method of farming

Extensive:It is the natural way of fish farming.Food for fishes in this system is produced by plants and algae present in the system by photosynthesis.No external inputs will be given.Low running and labor costs are main advantages of this farming,but the availability of fish meat also will be very low compared to other farming methods

Semi-Intensive:In this mode of fish farming,we will give some external inputs such as food,manures,water bodies etc in to the system to promote fish growth and photosynthesis in the system.All other parameters are controlled by system(nature) itself.It is suitable for small scale fish farming.

Intensive farming:In this farming,we will control all parameters in the water artificially.Increased meat production and high quality are its merits.But the cost also will be large.It is suitable for large scale fish farms.

 We can do fish farming in various water bodies like ponds,rivers,lake etc.fish farming in ponds are common.We can do farming of various fish breeds like carp,catla,cat fish,tilapia.We will discuss about various aspects of Fish farming business in coming posts.

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Honey Bee Farming in Rubber Plantations-New Business Opportunity

 Rubber plantation is a good source of income for a traditional farmer.As the price of the rubber increases with increase in fuel rate,the profitability also increases. It won't be a bad idea if we can increase the income further by doing some small changes in the plantation. Honey bee farming in rubber plantations is such a small idea which increases the income from Rubber plantations by spending small amount of money and time which you can spare.

 This is not only for  a rubber farmer,but also for anyone having land near to rubber plantations.Rubber trees are great source of Honey.The joining part of young leaflets (petiole) produce Honey dew. At normal conditions the Honey produced in rubber plants not completely collected by honey bees.By doing honey bee farming near rubber plantations,we can ensure most of these honey is collected by our bees.As the rubber plantation area is large in India,Honey bee farming has great scope.Various Government agencies like Rubber board,National Horticulture Board,NABARD,Khadi Board etc give training and assistance to promote Bee keeping.

 Honey Bee farming is a great way to reduce unemployment in rural areas.This also increase the availability of pure natural Honey.This farming can avoid wastage of women work hours in village areas.Incorporating Honey Bee farming in current farm is always a sustainable method of farming.

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Small Scale Honey Bee Keeping Business

 We know the economic importance of Honey in our society.Also we can learn how to handle honey bees for bee keeping purpose.So if we can spare a little time and money,we can develop this idea to a successful business.For a farmer having crops,fruits,vegetables or plantations,Honey bee farming can yield double benefits for him.For a new farmer,Honey bee keeping is a new business as well as opportunity to realize the potential of other farming techniques.So lets have a look on Honey bee farming.

For starting a Bee keeping or Apiculture business, you need to have some idea about various aspects of Honey bee farm.Below details may help you.

Bee Hive Box

 It is one of the Essential thing in a honey Bee farm.It is the box where Honey bees do their activities like build their combs,store Honey,Grow their young ones etc.So it is the primary place for a farmer to concentrate.A typical Honey Beehive box consists of Brood chamber,Honey chamber(Super) and a roof.Brood chamber consists of eggs of  Queen and some honey.We can extract honey from honey chamber.The box should be protected from rain,direct sunlight and bee predators.A small honey bee farm can have 5 to 25 honey bee boxes.You can get Honey bee boxes from local bee keepers in your area.National Horticulture Board and Rubber Board also provides Honey Bee Boxes and financial aids for farmers.

Selecting Suitable Honey Bee

 Selection of Honey Bee is one of the critical stage For a Bee farm.The nature of your farm depend on the Honey Bee breed you select.To have an idea about Honey Bee Breeds and their selection,visit my previous post about Selecting Suitable Honey Bee For Your Farm. European honey bee,Indian(Asian) honey bee,Dwarf(stingless) Honey Bee etc are suitable bees for your farm.

Essential tools Required

 A beekeeper require some essential tools for safe handling of Bee farm.They are

• The smoker: Smoker is used to control aggressive bees in a box.This is mainly used during honey extraction.
• Hive Tool,Knife:This tool is used for handling Honey Bee Box ,its frames and Honey combs.
• Bee Brush
• Honey Extractor: It is a Mechanical equipment used for extraction of Honey.

 Some farmers also use protective clothing during honey extraction.

Processing of Honey

 Honey extracted from honey comb need to be processed for storage and packing.The extra water content and impurities are removed during processing.During processing, Honey is heated by placing it in a container which is heated by Hot water.After keeping it in 45 degree for half an hour,it is cooled.The impurities and water will be there on the top of honey and is removed.This process repeats until all impurities are removed.  

Marketing and Profitability

 If you can ensure the availability and quality of the Honey,marketing is not a problem.lots of Ayurveda companies require honey for their products.Government agencies also helps in marketing of Honey.The profitability of honey Bee keeping mainly depends on the Honey production rate.If you incorporate bee keeping with your Rubber plantation,the profit will be huge.There are lots of rubber plantation in India,especially in Kerala where we can utilize Bee Keeping.Bees also help in pollination of other plants in our farm.So it is a sustainable and profitable organic business that you can do within your farm for earning some extra money by improving the farm.

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