RAYAGADA: A retired teacher of Rayagada district has set an example in fish farming. He is single-handedly producing several quintals of fish from a pond that he dug up in village land.A resident of Kanchikavalsha village under Rayagada block, Bijay Kumar Puala (72) still practices traditional form of fish farming and does not use any growth hormones to increase the fish output. His tryst with pisciculture began in the 90s. In fact, fish farming was a hobby that he developed during his career as a teacher in Bankili village under Kolnara block of Rayagada district.“I loved seeing fishermen catch fish from ponds in the village and had decided to start fish farming in my village,” he recalled.
After getting transferred to a place close to his village in 1992, he started fish cultivation by converting two acres of his ancestral paddy field into a pond. He withdrew `20,000 from his general provident fund for the purpose and with the nominal profit that he earned over the years, Bijay expanded his pond by another nine acres. He retired in 2002 and took up pisciculture full-time. Currently, he procures 25 to 30 quintals per annum.
Annually, he earns `3.5 lakh from pisciculture. Fishes produced from his farm are much in demand during social events such as marriage and birthday parties in Rayagada town as people prefer fresh water fish. He is, however, not able to meet the huge demand. On other days, the town gets fish from Andhra Pradesh. Bijay also attends training camps and workshops on pisciculture in different parts of the State to improve his knowledge on fish farming. He is also into beekeeping and poultry farming besides, fruit and vegetable cultivation within a small area near his fish pond.