18-day Community Resource Persons training concludes in Kamrup

GUWAHATI: With a pledge to disseminate knowledge on sustainable aquaculture practices amongst 700 fish farmers of selected districts in the State, the curtains formally came down on the 18-day Community Resource Persons (CRP) training at the Aquaculture Field School (AFS), Bagibari, Kamrup (Metro) on March 30.

According to a press release, the training for 56 CRPs, hosted at the only AFS in the North-East, was divided into three phases-the first phase was of three days, the second phase was of five days and the third phase was of ten days.

The training of CRPs, viewed as a crucial bridge to reach out to the marginalized and small fish farmers of the State, was envisaged and completed under the Sustainable Aquaculture for Food and Livelihood (SAFAL), an Indo-German Development Cooperation Project. These trained CRPs will share their knowledge with around 700 fish farmers in the coming days.

It is worth mentioning that on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) in cooperation with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, is implementing this project in Assam and Odisha.

Non-Government Organization Kalong-Kapili, which is implementing SAFAL project in Assam, roped in experienced resource persons, apart from its own pool of technically and academically qualified resources, to impart state-of-the-art training on sustainable aquaculture to the CRPs.

According to Kalong-Kapili director Jyotish Talukdar, sustainable aquaculture, which aims to contribute to local community development, generate monetary gains to fish farmers, and meet nutritional food security in harmony with the environment, would not only ensure better living standards for the fish farmers, but will also give an impetus to the rural economy of the State.

Attending the valedictory function on Wednesday, PK Barthakur, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, urged the CRPs to work with dedication for boosting socio-economic development of the State through fish farming. He dwelt at length on the relevance and profitability of fish farming and expressed the hope that the trained CRPs will enrich the fishery sector of the State.

The function was attended by many prominent citizens including Pratap Sinha, leader of GIZ-SAFAL India Project and other members of his team, Dr Dhrubajyoti Sarma, MD, Fishfed and State Nodal Officer at APART, Assam, Dr Sanjay Sarma, State Co-ordinator (Fisheries), APART, Assam, Dhrubajyoti Gogoi, State Project Manager (Livelihood), ASRLM amongst others.

Certificates, Farmers Record Book were presented to all the CRPs, and soil and water testing kit box were distributed amongst a few on the occasion. The kit box, provided by ICAR-CIFA, will be distributed to all the CRPs who attended the training. It is to be noted that ICAR-CIFA has been playing a proactive role for the benefit of the fish farmers of Assam for a long time.

Prizes were also given to the CRPs who scored the highest in their pre-training and post-training exam.

On the eve of the valedictory function, a group of CRPs staged a street play that carried the message for promoting sustainable aquaculture in the State. One of the actors, Ramen Nath from Sootea block, said that performing arts was a powerful tool to motivate fish farmers at the grassroots to embrace sustainable aquaculture. "We have decided that street plays will be an important medium for us to inspire the fish farmers in our area to listen to us and learn the techniques of sustainable aquaculture from us."

Another participant in the play, Rashmi Rabha from Naduwar block, opined that people from the villages can easily relate to performing arts, and this medium will definitely help all the CRPs to achieve the objective of the training at AFS.

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