Warm greetings from ICAR-CIFA!
Freshwater aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing sector contributing to nearly half of India’s total fisheries production of 14.2 mmt in 2019-20. ICAR-CIFA, the premier research institute involved in research and development in freshwater aquaculture has over the years significantly contributed to the growth of this sector by developing and standardizing new technologies for increasing production and productivity. Though there is great scope of further improvement in production through horizontal and vertical expansion there are also new challenges to this sector due to new and emerging diseases, decreasing pond productivity, climate change associated problems, decreasing availability of freshwater as well as increasing inputs cost.
Considering the present scenario and future challenges in freshwater aquaculture, the way forward in research is in species and system diversification, genetic improvement of important cultured species through a combination of selective breeding and modern biotechnological tools, development of high quality formulated feeds for different life stages of important cultured species, disease diagnostic kits for existing and emerging diseases and chemical formulations or vaccines for existing diseases. Research efforts also need to focus on improving water productivity, soil and water conservation for long term benefits. In order to empower the stakeholders with the latest technical knowledge, we are organizing training programmes on wide range of topics in our Headquarters in Bhubaneswar as well as in our Regional Research Centers. I wish all the relevant stakeholders should utilize the opportunity and upgrade their knowledge in freshwater aquaculture.
