Field visit and interaction with fishermen and farmers at South Goa

    A field visit and interaction was organized with the fishermen and farmers from Saleri and Poinguinim from South Goa on 30 January 2025. A total of 25 participants (8 men, 17 women, 20 belonged to ST category) including fishermen, and farmers were present during the interaction. Dr Sreekanth GB, Senior Scientist (FRM), ICAR-CCARI interacted with them and enquired about the current status of fishing and farming. The fishermen responded that decline in fish catch and water quality changes are the major bottlenecks to fishing operations. The farmers considered the intrusion of saline water to their fields is the major cause of decline in productivity. The fisherwomen involved in fish marketing requested for a small-scale hygienic fish market set up for improving their sales. Dr Sreekanth suggested the farmers to adopt the technologies developed by the institute such as salt tolerant rice varieties for improving the yield. He also demonstrated the operation of low cost fish trap and crab fattening barrel to them for yielding additional income from the fisheries activities. He has also requested the participants to visit the institute and get exposed to the farmer friendly technologies. He has also assured that a design for a small-scale fish market will provided to them and will make efforts to communicate their requirement to the concerned developmental departments. The participants expressed sincere gratitude towards the institute and assured whole-hearted support for the research and development activities of the institute. The programme was co-ordinated by Dr Sreekanth GB, Shri Trivesh Mayekar, Dr Shripad Bhat (Scientists from CCARI) and Shri Harshvardhan Shetye (Young Professional-1).