Nalla Rajaiah is a farmer in his 60s having about three acres land at Narayanaraopet mandal. During last year Mr. Rajaiah divided his land into two parts and dug four fish ponds in 1.5 acres land while paddy was sown in another 1.5 acre.
For about nine months Mr. Rajaiah along with his wife Kanakavva worked hard. His day started early in the morning and ended late in the evening. After nine months, he has reaped rich dividends, literally. He earned ₹ 2.7 lakh from fish farming only. Since he has to clear the water in the pond every 10 days, he used the water from the fish pond in his paddy field, which resulted in almost zero use of fertilizers thereby saving a considerable amount.
While the revenue from four fish ponds was ₹ 2.7 lakh it was only ₹ 40,000 from the paddy field spread on the same extent of land.
Working at fish ponds and taking care of them is nothing new to Mr. Rajaiah. He worked in fish ponds in Gujarat for about 18 years before returning to his native place. He learnt all about feeding the fish in time, scanning health condition of fish and releasing and filling of water in the tanks.
As a farmer with hands-on experience in handling fish ponds in Gujarat, Mr. Rajaiah approached the officials who offered to help set up the ponds and supply fish seed. Four fish ponds were dug in his field, each costing about ₹ 3 lakh, under the MG National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and he has already sold the yield from three ponds. One more pond has fish, which will bring him some more money.
“I am ready to guide any number of farmers in the district in working on fish ponds. This will give better earnings than paddy and other crops. The only thing is we have to do is to work hard and be alert,” Mr. Rajaiah told The Hindu . He has earned ₹ 2.4 lakh for nine months work
Taking a cue from him, fish ponds have been dug at Ensanpally. Recently, Finance Minister T. Harish Rao has appreciated the efforts made by the local representatives in getting the fish ponds dug.
