Scampi farming in India is set to undergo a renaissance as the Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme takes center stage in revitalizing this once-thriving industry. With a steadfast commitment to uplifting the fortunes of scampi farmers and bolstering the aquaculture sector, PMMSY is poised to breathe new life into scampi farming, which has witnessed a decline in recent years.   ICAR- Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture’s pathbreaking research has resulted in the development of CIFA-GI SCAMPI®, a genetically improved strain of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, . This breakthrough has proven instrumental in enhancing scampi productivity and profitability. In 2007, ICAR-CIFA initiated a collaborative endeavour with WorldFish, Malaysia to implement a systematic selective breeding program to develop a fast-growing strain of scampi. The breeding program spanned 14 generations and involved the meticulous selection of scampi populations sourced...

“Backyard Poultry Farming” may be one of the effective tools to improve the socio-economic status of marginal farmers through employment and income generation, alleviating malnutrition besides reducing migration from rural to urban areas. Conservation of desi chicken and development of improved crosses for rural poultry has been one of the mandated activities of ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly. CARI-NIRBHEEK has been one such premium germplasm developed in Indo-German Collaborative Project in 2000 at CARI and evaluated widely for backyard poultry production under different as well as harsh agro-climatic conditions in the country. After its farm testing at Institute, these birds were put to rigorous field evaluation during 2000-2003, with more than 9000 chicks in different states like Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In continuation, during 2003-2004, CARI-NIRBHEEK birds were released by the Institute for commercial...

In a major achievement in fostering the efforts of the Government of India for the development of the seaweed enterprise as another driver of the economy of Lakshadweep, the commercial-scale pilot seaweed farming guided by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin has turned out to be a huge success in the large-scale pre-feasibility studies during 2022-23 season. The endeavour of the TSC-Purple Turtle Company, Tuticorin, aided by the ICAR-CMFRI and the Lakshadweep Administration has the potential to boost the economy of the archipelago and provide a new source of income for the local community, especially women.   The seaweed farming enterprise was initially launched in Chetlath, one of the smaller islands in Lakshadweep with a population of nearly 2,500. Six plots of 100 tube nets each were established by the end of September 2022, with a seed stock size of 3 tons per plot. The first harvest yielded nearly 15 tons in 45 days. The entire harvest was...

Shri Sachin Jha, working for Krishi Darshan at Doordarshan, Ranchi, was a regular visitor to Farming Systems Research Centre for Hill and Plateau Region (FSRCHPR of ICAR-RCER), Ranchi, and developed a passion for farming. He was an immediate learner and perceived the prospects of pointed gourd (Parwal) farming in Jharkhand. The well-maintained blocks of Parwal at Farm-I of FSRCHPR, Ranchi were undoubtedly the trigger for his venture into Agri-entrepreneurship. Parwal is a highly remunerative crop due to its prolonged fruiting season from February to October. Demand is huge in the markets of North-eastern Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.   Shri Jha took a lease of 25 acres of land at Anandi Village, Oromanjhi Block, Ranchi for farming in 2021. Experts from the Centre provided the necessary technology for establishment and maintenance of the mother block of the pointed gourd varieties developed by the Centre viz.,...

Shri Ranjit Kher, a Pune-based equine breeder established India's first private equine semen laboratory and become a reliable supplier of stallion frozen semen across the country.   He purchased two technologies developed by ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines, Bikaner “Semen Collection and Cryopreservation in Indigenous Horses” and “Customized AV for semen collection from Stallions” from Equine Production Campus, ICAR-NRCE in the year 2021. The technologies were developed by Dr. TR Talluri, Dr. Yash Pal and Dr RA Legha. Shri Kher and his team members received training in stallion semen collection as well as cryopreservation methods from the expert team of scientists at ICAR-NRCE.   With the scientific and technical inputs from ICAR – NRCE, he set up a state-of-art laboratory for semen collection and cryopreservation for the stallions at Pune, Maharasthra. Shri Kher’s team also collected semen of stallions from various equine breeders across the...