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Nabard thrust to fresh water prawn culture

Ch. Prashanth Reddy

HYDERABAD, Jan. 18

EFFORTS are being made to promote fresh water prawn culture in Andhra Pradesh as brackish water shrimp farming in the State is still bogged down with various problems, ranging from environmental hazards to viral diseases.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has decided to give a special thrust to farming of fresh water prawns (scampi) in Nellore district. In the current fiscal, the bank has earmarked an amount of Rs. 7 crores for the promotion of scampi farming in 300 hectares in the district.

According to a study conducted by Nabard, scampi has distinct advantages over its brackish water counterpart. The species (Machrobrachium rosenbergii) is hardy, takes pelletted feed and has omnivorous feeding habits. Besides, the environmental concerns s uch as salinisation of soil and groundwater, CRZ regulation and displacement of mangroves do not exit.

As per the study, the capital cost in cultivating scampi in one hectare of pond will be approximately Rs. 1,31 lakhs, while the operating cost will amount to Rs. 94,000. As against this, the gross income will be around Rs. 2 lakhs. Though the entrepreneu r will incur a loss of Rs. 25,000 in the first year of operations, he will earn a net profit of Rs. 1.06 lakhs from the second year onwards as there would not be any capital cost. The internal rate of return is estimated to be over 50 per cent.

The study states that fresh water prawn culture can be practised successfully in areas located in the 22 to 34 degrees Celsius range and having clayey silt soil with good water retention capacity. The agro-climatic conditions prevailing in the coastal di stricts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore districts are stated to be suitable for scampi cultivation. Nabard is, however, concentrating only at Nellore district.

In the natural environment, scampi is found in the lower reaches of rivers and tidal inlets which are their preferred habitats. The breeding and larval development take place in low saline waters. The species is found in Godavari river and seed can be ob tained from its estuary. The seed is also now available from the fresh water hatcheries in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

There is stated to be a good demand for scampi in local and international markets. The prawns are presently being exported to Japan, the US, Canada, Singapore, Scotland, the UK and other European countries. Depending on the size, the rate of scampi in th e export market ranges from $4 to $17.3 per kg.

Nabard study states that good management practices would yield around 1,000 kg of scampi per hectare per crop of eight-month duration. Technical inputs are provided by the feed suppliers. On harvesting, the crop can be sold to the agents of the processin g companies.