ICAR-CIBA developed Plankton Plus, a plankton booster and growth promoter from fish waste and demonstrated its potential use for P. vannamei culture among the farmers of West Bengal. Kakdwip Research centre of CIBA organized a Farmers’ Meet-cum-Harvest Mela at Dwariknagar, Namkhana on 7th December, 2019, where the shrimp produced by using PlanktonPlus technology was harvested and witnessed by 150 shrimp farmers, representatives from local Gram Panchayat, Officials from the Dept. of Fisheries, Govt. of West Bengal and scientists from CIBA. The shrimp farm adopted this PlanktonPlus technology obtained a production of 7.24 tonnes/ha as compared to 6.04 tonnes/ha without PlanktonPlus. This increased production was due to more survival and growth of shrimp. It clearly indicated a production benefit of 1.2 tonnes/ha and thereby increased net income of Rs.3.6 lakhs by spending only Rs. 21000/- as cost of Plankton Plus (300 L/ ha). Dr. Debasis De, Principal Scientist and Officer-in-Charge of Kakdwip Research Centre of CIBA and team leader of PlanktonPlus narrated in brief about the importance of this product and its efficacy in all culture trials. He expressed that the technology utilizing the fish trimmings from the fish markets has a twin advantage of cleaning the fish markets and provided alternative livelihood for fisher households to produce wealth from the waste as a concept of the circular economy. He appealed to the state Governments that SHGs/NGOs can be involved through State Govt. support in production and marketing of this cost effective and profitable product.
The farmers interaction meeting was inaugurated by Mr. Vaibhav Tiwari, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Sundarban Police District and Swami Adhyatmananda Maharaj, Secretary, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, South 24 Parganas, Mr. Choudhury Mojammel Haque, Assistant Director of Fisheries (Brackishwater), Govt. of West Bengal and representatives from local gram panchayat attended the programme. Mr. Vaibhav Tiwari praised on the initiative taken by CIBA to popularize the technologies developed through this type of demonstration and urged the farmers to make full benefit out of it. Swami Adhyatmananda Maharaj presented at the occasion opined that this technology will definitely be a great step to clean up the fish markets of West Bengal by converting these wastes to wealth and also to generate employment. Mr. Choudhury Mojammel Haque expressed that State Fisheries Department would provide all possible support for augmenting fish production through use of this cost-effective technology. Dr. P. Mahalakshmi, Principal Scientist ICAR-CIBA, Chennai briefed about the role of CIBA for upliftment of farming community of India through brackishwater based shrimp farming. Mr. Buddhadev Bhuinya, shrimp farmer who adopted this technology was very much enthusiastic about the success of this joint effort with CIBA, on a public-private partnership mode. He expressed that this result demonstration would encourage many farmers in this district to take up shrimp farming using Plankton Plus. The programme was ended with vote of thanks proposed by Dr. T.K. Ghoshal, Principal Scientist of KRC of CIBA.
