Kalimuddin Sekh from Nadia has experienced new hope with Pranw farming . Kalimuddin is a member of the Water User Association under West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP). IMAGIN, working as Support Orgaization (SO) of WBADMIPin Nadia brought changes in the conventional farming and introduced Freshwater Prawn Farming, bringing profit to the farmers.
In West Bengal’s Nadia district, the West Bengal Accelerated Development of Minor Irrigation Project (WBADMIP) introduced prawn farming as a sustainable alternative to traditional farming. With the active involvement of Support Organisation (SO) IMAGIN , the initiative helped many farmers adopt the farming of Macrobrachium Rosenbergii —also known as Giant Freshwater Prawn. This initiative brought both economic and social upliftment for the rural farming community.
IMAGIN’s discussion with farmers led the organization to take decision that prawn farming would be a great opportunity for the farmers. As per the Fishery expert of SO- Team , Macrobrachium Rosenbergii prawns were chosen because they can grow well in village ponds and sell at high prices. Farmers including Koilmuddin Sk were convinced to cultivate Giant Freshwater Prawn. Fisheries Expert from IMAGIN provided training to the farmers.
The positive results of this initiative became visible within just six months. Mr. Koilmuddin Sk , a marginal farmer who adopted this model with help of IMAGIN Team members on his 3-bigha pond. He stocked 8,000 prawn seeds, out of which 5,600 survived and reached an average weight of 80 grams each. In total, he harvested 448 kg of prawns and sold them at ₹700 per kg, earning ₹1,96,000. In the same pond, he also stocked 800 fingerlings of Indian Major Carps (Catla and Rohu), of which 720 survived.
These fish grew to an average weight of 0.5 kg each, giving him 360 kg of fish which were sold at ₹140 per kg, earning ₹50,400. His total income from the pond was ₹2,46,400, while the total cost of cultivation was ₹1,03,100. Thus, within just six months, Koilmuddin made a net profit of
₹1,43,300. This was a significant achievement for a small farmer and helped him gain both financial stability and community respect.
Farmer Koilmuddin SK shared his experience thanking IMAGIN. Kolimuddin says, “ Conventional farming was not profitable. Meeting with IMAGIN’s Experts and Community Workers moved us to rethink about fish farming. I have made a profit of around ₹1,43,300 in just six months”.
The prawn farming project under WBADMI, with strong support from SO IMAGIN, has shown how rural lives can change for the better.
