Haryana has created a farmer producer organisation (FPO) in Sirsa district with a base of 165 farmers to promote shrimp farming with the help of Nabard and aims to build it up as an organisation that can emerge like Amul with its own brand and processing facilities.

“The process of registration has been completed and we will add all the shrimp farmers to the FPO. Once done, we will be in a position of strength to negotiate with hatcheries on seeds pricing and other input costs such as feed,” said Jagdish Chandra, district fishery officer in Sirsa, who is the real force behind the growth of shrimp farming in Haryana.

Farmers acknowledge the contribution of Chandra in trying to bring down electricity cost to as they have been demanding it to be fixed at ₹2/unit. “Electricity is a big expense and for a small farmer of 2-3 acres, it is not just possible to sustain,” said Kuldeep Singh of Badaguda block in Sirsa. He said for 2 ponds of one acre each, he is paying ₹3 lakh as electricity bill for one crop that takes about four-five months. Singh said the current rate at ₹4.75/unit is not sustainable.

Making the job easy

Chandra has put a guideline which all member-farmers of The Sirsa Shrimp Farmer Producer Company are following in letter and spirit. Sirsa has 11.5 tonne per hectare productivity in shrimp against the State average of 8 tonnes/hectare, he said.

“When I found labour is a problem as most of the skilled manpower are from outside the State, we devised a solution by organising in small group of 8-10 farmers having ponds in a small area. Whenever one farmer does the stocking of seeds in a pond, others in the group join during that time so that the work becomes easier,” said Chandra. There are several other such works at which the group of farmers stand with each other, he said.

He said it is possible to build an organisation like Amul by organising the farmers for which the government will try its best as Haryana has the potential to offer a profitable alternative to them since soil degradation due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides besides depleting water table are major concerns.

“As Haryana is a land-locked State, the direct export opportunities have to be managed through some coastal State. Currently exporters are buying the shrimp at farm-gate and farmers are not worried about marketing. However, they have sensed the potential of getting higher returns with current infrastructure being developed in the country, whether it is rail or road network,” said an expert who has been working among farmers providing them technical guidance.

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