Muktsar: Demand is low, shrimp farming area is decreasing

Punjab: Muktsar has seen a decline in the net area under shrimp farming just eight years after its launch. The district has shrimp ponds spread over 600 acres, while shrimp farming is currently being done in 450 acres. Rising costs and farmers not getting good prices for the last two years are cited as the reason behind this. It is worth noting that shrimp farming is done in brackish water and the salinity level should be more than five parts per thousand (PPT). Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), the central and state governments provide 40 per cent subsidy to the general category, 60 per cent to people belonging to the SC/ST category and women for starting shrimp farming. Under this scheme, the central and state governments provide 60:40 per cent share of subsidy. Muktsar accounts for almost half of the state’s total area under shrimp farming due to the availability of saline water due to waterlogging.

Fisheries department sources said that not only has the net area under shrimp farming decreased, but now hardly any farmer is showing interest in it. For instance, in the current fiscal year, the department received applications for new ponds on only 10 acres in the district. A farmer who started shrimp farming in 2022 said, “We were two partners who started shrimp farming on seven acres. However, when I did not make any profit for two years, I quit this year. There is hardly any demand locally. Buyers come from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, who export it further. They do not give good prices, so, many farmers have quit shrimp farming.” Kewal Krishan, assistant director of the fisheries department in Muktsar, said, “Prices remained low in the last two years, but now new harvesting has started and prices are good. The average price of 1 kg shrimp (40 counts of 25 grams each) is Rs 320. We hope more farmers will show interest in it now.” Meanwhile, Randhir Singh, a shrimp farmer of Thehri village, said, “Harvesting has just started and the price of shrimp remains at Rs 350-355 per kg. We hope that the prices will increase soon. It is true that in the last two years some farmers have given up shrimp farming as prices remained low. Input costs have increased and we have to pay electricity bills as per the tariff of commercial connections. If the state government cannot give us free electricity like other farmers, it should reduce the electricity rates.” It is worth noting that shrimp farming was started in the district on a trial basis in 2016 with the efforts of then CM Parkash Singh Badal. It takes about Rs 14 lakh to dig a pond in 2.5 acres, buy seeds, feed and equipment. If a farmer does shrimp farming on up to 5 acres of land, he can get the benefit of subsidy.