eChapters

Parametric and Non-parametric tests

Parametric and Non-parametric tests are used for comparing differences between groups (e.g. Difference in catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of two types of Codends) and to test the relationship between two or more variables (e.g. Gender differences in awareness levels of fish farming (High, medium and low). As there seen differences in types of data, Non-parametric statistics are used when

• Data is non-normal

• Small sample size

• The variables are categorical

• Short response categories (<5 ) in scales

Introduction

Resources are used unscientifically commonly. For example applying feed somewhere in the pond results in loss, but by using technology, we can know when to apply where to apply, and how to apply which leads to efficient management of resources. Monitoring should be continuous which is not possible and very difficult for humans, but with technology, it could be monitored and the status could be known even from home which is communicated through mobile, which is sent by sensors installed. The data are also easily maintained. When technology is used, resources are efficiently utilized, since everything has a demand and that can be satisfied. So resources can easily be maintained which reduces wastage. Field management is a very skilled activity and it needs years of experience and onsite exposure which needs skilled labour, in such cases technologies aids with better methodologies. When the resources are applied at the right time, at the right amount, the growth becomes normal which increases the produce quality. After a product is produced, it has to be sent to a series of channels such as transport, market etc. and a technology should backup and monitor everything. The produce after being produced should be sold and many apps can be downloaded to improve the marketing. The whole world is changing within a period of time. So one should stay updated to impress the livelihood and the wide knowledge on technology helps to lead a better life with easy management practices. Thus data driven technology interventions are needed for efficient management of resources, monitoring of things anytime & anywhere, reduction of wastage of resources, reduction of dependence on trained and skilled manpower, enhanced product quality, better integration, better marketability, to stay updated with latest knowledge and access to other knowledge source for better upgrades.

Key Facts

• Global fish production peaked at about 171 million tonnes (MT) in 2016, with aquaculture representing 47 perc ent of the total and 53 per cent of non-food uses (Global capture fisheries production was 90.9 MT in 2016)

• World fish production is projected to increase by 15% in the next 10 years, reaching around 200 MT per year

• The total first sale value of fisheries and aquaculture production in 2016 was estimated at USD 362 billion, of which USD 232 billion was from aquaculture production

• Fish (including shellfish) provides essential nutrition for 3 billion people and at least 50% of animal protein and minerals to 400 million people from the poorest countries

• 10-12% people, i.e. over 870 million people, depend on fisheries and aquaculture

• Aquaculture is the world’s fastest growing food production system, growing at 7% annually

• Women account for 19% of all people directly engaged in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and over 50% when including the post-harvest sector

Climate Change: A global externality

Climate Change (CC) is a result of the externality associated with greenhouse gas emissions. It entails costs that are not paid for by those who create the emissions.

Distinguished Features from Other Externalities

• Climate change is global in its causes and consequences;

• The impacts of climate change are long-term and persistent;

• Uncertainties and risks in the economic impact are pervasive;

• There is a serious risk of major, irreversible change with non- marginal economic effects

Definition of Climate Change

Climate change refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer).

Introduction

Impact Assessment is simply defined as the process of identifying the future consequences of a current or proposed action. The “impact” is the difference between what would happen with the action and what would happen without it (International Association for Impact Assessment). It’s a structured process for considering the implications, for people and their environment, of proposed actions while there is still an opportunity to modify (or even, if appropriate, abandon) the proposals. It is applied at all levels of decision-making, from policies to specific projects.

IA aims to

• provide information for decision-making that analyses the biophysical, social, economic and institutional consequences of proposed actions;

• promote transparency and participation of the public in decision-making;

• identify procedures and methods for the follow-up (monitoring and mitigation of adverse consequences) in policy, planning and project cycles; and contribute to environmentally sound and sustainable development.

Introduction

Economists consider a producer as an income or profit maximiser. In our context, it may mean enhancement of fisheries contribution to the GDP, increased fish production, Nutritional security of those who need it most, not just those who can afford to pay for it improvement in the livelihood conditions of the stakeholders, augmenting exports to net more foreign exchange, growth with social equity or inclusive growth, etc. Realisation of a goal or target depends on development and enforcement of necessary policy strategies for which a reliable data base is inevitable. Analytical trends of the past data could help to project future trend which could indicate feasibility of the envisioned goal. Here, an outline of some of the Methodological issues in Fisheries data collection is provided.

The Resource Endowments

Fisheries is a sunrise sector in India, in terms of food and nutritional security, employment and income generation. India is the 3rd largest fish producer and the 2nd in aquaculture production, globally. It contributes about 1% of national GDP and 5 % of agriculture GDP. The exports of marine products account for about 5% of total Indian exports in 2018-19. The estimated fish production during 2017-18 was 12-59 million tones (mt). It was 10.14% increase over 11.43 million t in 2016-17. Inland fisheries grew at 14.05% while marine fisheries rose at 1.73% in 2017-18. Fisheries sub-sector provides livelihood support and gainful employment to 14 million people. Many more may be employed now as available data is yet to be updated.

Introduction

Precise learning of the components of the general structure of a research article is inevitable in writing a research article. The general structure of a research article consists of Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References and Supporting materials. There are no specific guidelines for which one of the above should be written first.

Process of Writing - Building the Article

To start writing a research article, it is not advisable to consider all the tables and data that are available to the writer. The easiest way to start with is to choose the tables and data that can be used wisely in the paper. The writer should be aware of the types of the chart or table which are accepted and the number of charts and tables that should be included in the paper (generally a research paper contain 7 to 9 figures and charts in each category). It is also not recommended to use conventional ways of presenting data and figures (like bar charts, pie diagram). The figures or illustrations should not be so simple. Figures and Tables should be self-communicating. The reader of the paper is very well educated and may have mastery in the particular subject. The language and illustration should be appealing to them. The figures and illustrations should have an impact on the reader to think and draw inference from the data provided by the research. Two dimensional and three dimensional data presentation create more interest in the reader rather than the one dimensional presentations. Next to consider is Methods that explain how the data was collected. In case of writing the methods in research paper, unlike thesis, the methods need not be elaborated in the paper. Results are the description of the data and the broad observation made. Results should not contain the inferences that are already known. Results should be supplementing the tables and charts, not a description of them. Discussion involves the comparison of the obtained result and the previous results. The contribution to the previous research results can be discussed. New findings and solutions can also be discussed. Conclusion is a single paragraph which altogether summarizes the final outcome. Generally the conclusion should not contain citations.

1. Introduction

India completed its 75 years of independence in the year 2022. Government of India celebrated the country’s journey across its 75 years of independence and its magnificent achievements during that period as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The official journey of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav commenced as a 75-week long countdown from 12th March 2021 up to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence on 15th August 2022 and continued for a year beyond up to 15th August 2023. The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was commemorated as a Jan-Utsav in the spirit of Jan-Bhagidari, which means, a public festival with public participation.

The Hon’ble Government of India has, through this campaign envisioned the foundation of a self-reliant India and he said, “The Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav means elixir of energy of independence; elixir of inspirations of the warriors of freedom struggle; elixir of new ideas and pledges; and elixir of Aatmanirbharta. Therefore, this Mahotsav is a festival of awakening of the nation; festival of fulfilling the dream of good governance; and the festival of global peace and development”1.

Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav paved way to envisage a vision for the country, set goals and realize where the country would be in 2047, when India marks 100 years of its independence. Government of India termed the journey from 75 years to 100 years, the next 25 years, as the “Amrit Kaal,” which means a most auspicious period to start a new venture, signifying that it’s a time to make resolutions and achieve them (Sankalp se Siddhi)2.

Introduction

Where there is water, there is fish. India is country accounts 4.2 percent of global water and has competitive advantage in fisheries production. But, unfortunately the sector has been upholding the tag line of fishy (something unpleasant) in spite of its importance in food, income, society and health1. Even, the livelihood of backward communities near to the seashore and other water basins cannot be ignored and could be strengthened by enriching their life through fisheries sector development who will be a barricade for the intruders in future. Panigrahy & Nayak (2023) highlighted that sustainable Development Goal also emphasized upon the importance of fisheries in various segments like no poverty (SD 1), zero hunger (SD 2), good health and wellbeing (SD 3), gender equity (SD 5), responsible consumption and production (SD 12), and climate action (SD 13). Day by day the country has also improved its export share both in volume and value through fisheries that stimulate employment, investment, consumption, and future income of the people who integrate them with fisheries. However, fisheries in our country have been facing the tragedy of commons, conflicts, and loss of biodiversity due to target fishing in absence of effective market intelligence on which the complete business ecosystem of the stakeholders are revolving round through day and night.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its report highlighted that marine f isheries consumption suits the developed country whilst inland fisheries for developing and underdeveloped one according to the consumer surplus and disposal income is concerned (FAO,2014). Even growing consumer surplus also triggers protein consumption over carbohydrate that stimulates more fish consumption in future in our country as well. Study says, fish can be taken with rice as better lysine content of former compensate in diet of the consumer. In this juncture, fish as a functional food has an immense importance across the country where marine fisheries target to Southeast Asia, China, European country, Japan, and US and Inland fisheries find its customers in the national sphere2 (Panigrahy, Vahoniya & Kumar, 2017).

Introduction

The Aquaculture and fisheries sector in India is a multi-disciplinary sector that provides food security, employment, economic gains, and socio-economic upliftment for those involved in fish exploitation, production, and processing. Sustainable fishing practices, improvements in fish breeding and husbandry technologies, along with the introduction of new species, have helped increase production levels through small-scale rural aquaculture, largely through governmental and non-government organizations.1Aquaculture and f isheries entrepreneurship are crucial for youth economic empowerment in India, providing and promoting sustainable development and employment opportunities within the fisheries sector. Technological advancements in aquaculture can enhance productivity, optimize resource utilization, minimize environmental impacts, and improve profitability. Aquaculture and fisheries entrepreneurship can promote environmental sustainability by adopting eco friendly practices and establishing strong market linkages. It has significant potential in rural areas where employment opportunities are limited, reducing migration and contributing to local economic growth. Government initiatives and policies that promote entrepreneurship, youth development, and sustainable fisheries are instrumental in supporting young individuals interested in aquaculture.

Fisheries and aquaculture sector is highly diverse (Figure 1) and an important source of livelihood for about 28 million fishers and fish farmers in the country. India is the 3rd largest fish producing country with about 8% of global fish production. Globally, India stands 2nd in aquaculture production and is one of the top shrimp-producing and seafood-exporting nations. The fisheries sector in India has shown a sustained annual average growth rate of 8.61% for the 8-year period from 2014–15 to 2021–22 (at constant prices). The sector has reached a record fish production of 162.48 lakh tonnes in FY 2021–22 and has immense potential for growth.

Introduction

Dried fish is a staple food for various communities and considered a ‘hidden’ sub-sector within small-scale fisheries. Dried fish defined broadly as aquatic animals preserved using simple techniques such as sun-drying, salting, fermentation, and smoking that permit storage as foods at ambient temperature for extended periods without specialized packaging (Belton et al., 2022). The nutritional quality of dried fish remains intact, sometimes retains higher quality standards compared to fresh fish (Faruque et al., 2012). Fish drying is an age old practice followed for preservation of fish. Over the years, it has grown from a subsistence occupation to a full flourishing business (Sanjeev et al., 2020). This traditional method is followed for the preservation of fish especially in rural areas (Chakrabarti and Varma, 1999). Drying method is considered as the least expensive method of fish preservation (Balachandran, 2001). Dried f ish attracts greater demand during fishing ban period or lean seasons, as the fresh fish availability is relatively low (Das et al., 2013). Dry fishes are used as food and the deteriorated Dried fish business can play an important role in the national economy in multiple ways including minimizing post-harvest losses of fish providing a source of animal protein, enlarging livelihoods, utilizing idling labor into the production process and as a dish, especially for rural poor (Wickrama et al., 2021). Dry fish marketing chain begins with a farmer (dry fish producer) and concludes with the final consumer with several intermediaries in between. These marketing middlemen provide services for producing, assembling, loading, packaging and transporting dry fish, resulting in cost increase at every stage of marketing processing (Mallick et al., 2022). Dried f ish are usually low in price, easily divisible and can be stored and transported for accessibility by the poorest and most vulnerable communities throughout the year. Dried fish can therefore play a vital role in nutrition security. In India, dry fishes are widely sold at local markets and commercially important species are also exported to other countries (Immaculate et al., 2013). Dry fish are used for production of poultry/fish feed. Today, dried fish products business provide employment for millions of people, particularly women, who are the majority of the fish- drying workforce in many locations (Belton et al., 2022).

Introduction

Fisheries is a fast-growing and important sector for providing nutritional security and supporting livelihood in many countries. The global fish production currently stands at 179.9mt with a contribution of 112mt from marine and 65.43mt from inland sector (FAO, 2022). India is no exception to this; fisheries provide nutritious food and livelihood to millions. Our country ranks second in the world next to China in total fish production and aquaculture production. It contributes 14.7% to world fish production. Currently, fisheries is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in India with annual growth rate of 10.34% and annual production of 16.25mt. It contributes 1.1% to the national GDP, 6.7% to the agricultural GDP and provide livelihood to about 14 million. The inland fisheries and aquaculture contribute 12.12mt to the total fish production (DAHDF, 2023).

Fish production in India has gradually and definitively shifted from marine to inland fish production due to the rapid growth of the inland fisheries sector. Aquaculture development, including refinement of production protocols, introduction of new species and culture system, concomitant growth in input supply (seed, feed, medicine and chemicals), emphasis on education, training and skill development, intensive network of extension system and policy support has led to a notable increase of inland aquaculture, which currently contributes to more than 70% of inland fish production of the country. In addition, high profits in aquaculture coupled with limited water and land resources have led to system intensification using high rearing density and high protein feeds to boost productivity in closed or semi-closed systems (Zaki et al., 2020). In order to reduce mounting pressure on land resources, vis-a-vis to meet the country’s fish demand, the production must come from comparatively under-exploited fisheries resources through technological interventions. India has abundant and diverse inland aquatic resources with huge fisheries potential (Sharma et al., 2010). Reservoirs are the most important and potential inland water resources (3.5mha) that can play a major role in boosting fish production in the country. However, the recent scrutiny shows the average fish yield from this mega resource is 110kgha-1 (Sarkar et al., 2018).

Introduction

With the growing population of the country and the increasing requirements for f ish protein, the need for sustainable development of the post-harvest fisheries sector is now felt much more than ever before. Fish and fishery products serve as a part of a balanced diet because fish is known to be an excellent source of proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and many useful trace elements such as selenium and iodine. Especially, Omega-3(n-3) fatty acids such as DHA and EPA are plenty in fish, contribute significantly for the functioning of vital organs viz heart, brain, immune and reproductive systems. Over the years the demand for fish is on the rise all over the world due to such health benefits.

The harvest and post-harvest handling, processing and distribution of fish provide livelihood for millions of people as well as provide valuable foreign exchange earnings. India’s scale, its large and growing population and its over 500 million strong labour force pose a daunting challenge to job creation. The rising population in India is also accompanied by the rise of unemployment in all the sectors. Indian economy is also being hampered due to this problem. Meanwhile, it is also not possible for any government to create job for all. Probably, the solution of this burning problem is to encourage and support entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of creating incremental wealth and impact, and entrepreneurs are people that notice opportunities and take the initiative to mobilize resources to make new goods and services. Over the years, entrepreneurship has played a vital role in shaping the Indian economy, and it is set to play an even more important role in the future. Startups and small businesses are often more nimble and able to adapt to changing market conditions, which allows them to bring new products and services to market more quickly. The government has introduced a number of programs and initiatives aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, such as the Start-Up India program and the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

Introduction

The development of ornamental fish and aquarium industry in India could be divided into three phases i.e., pre-juvenile, juvenile and post juvenile phase. The period, since independence till the beginning of the 21st century was the pre-juvenile phase of ornamental fish and aquarium industry. It was characterised by few numbers of aquarium shops mainly in metro and major cities of the country, availability of limited varieties of fish and aquarium products, high cost of products, very few number of hobbyists and lack of any institutional support. The ornamental fish and aquarium industry during this period had developed because of the individual efforts of ornamental f ish producers and aquarium traders. The total value of domestic aquarium trade was Rs. 55 crores, the export of ornamental fish from country was Rs. 1.74 crores (US$ 0.40 million) during 1999-2000 and aquarium keeping was known to be the hobby of rich only.

The span of juvenile phase was from the beginning of the 21st century to the year 2019-20. The hobby of aquarium keeping grew significantly during this period as about 1.25% of the urban house-hold were estimated to keep an aquarium at home or workplace. It was because availability of aquarium and aquarium accessories increased in the domestic market due to entry of Chinese products, the cost of fish and aquarium products reduced, the number of aquarium shops increased with existence even up to small cities and most importantly the availability of institutional support. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, started providing financial assistance from 2006-07 to beneficiaries to set up ornamental fish production units. The schemes of MPEDA initially covered the coastal states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal and later inland states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. A total of 579 ornamental fish production units of different grades were established in all these states but the scheme was closed in the year 2014 15. It was followed by another pilot project implemented by National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying, Government of India (GOI) with a proposed investment of Rs. 61.98 crores. It covered six coastal states namely Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, an inland state Bihar and one hilly state of Assam from north-east. The total value of domestic aquarium trade was about Rs. 555 crores during 2019-20 and the export of ornamental fish from country was Rs. 10.84 crores. The aquarium keeping was known to be the hobby of common man now.

Introduction

Culture of aquatic organisms is a significant economic endeavor that benefits millions of people worldwide by generating employment opportunities and ensuring food security. One of the lucrative aquaculture ventures in many countries is the cultivation of freshwater pearls. Prior to the development of cultured pearl farming, pearls were harvested from the Gulf of Mannar, the region between India and Sri Lanka, the Bay of Bengal, the Egyptian coast (Red Sea), and the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabian coast) (Matlins 2001; Strack 2008), which benefited the nation’s economy. However, the natural pearl fisheries have been depleted as a result of indiscriminate fishing, habitat destruction, and pollution. Realizing its economic significance, pearl farming has developed into a successful aquaculture activity to support the nation’s aqua-economy through innovation and standardization of farming techniques.

Pearls are cultured in both marine and freshwater environments, and they are particularly created in bivalves with an inner nacreous layer. Many countries like China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico are major pearl producing countries through farming (Gervis and Sims 1992; Southgate 2007; Southgate et al. 2008 & Saurabh et al. 2021). In addition to the economic benefit like other bivalves these pearl producing mussels has positive environmental impact and also has several nutritional benefits. Freshwater bivalves including these pearl mussels are widely used in aquaculture for aquaculture-effluent treatment of aquaculture farms. The shells of bivalves are the source of two highly versatile chemical compounds, calcium carbonate or calcium oxide which is having wide industrial applications. The shells are used in cosmetics and traditional medicine, handicraft and jewelry. These economic and environmental benefits have catalyzed expansion of the bivalve aquaculture industry in various regions of world. During 2009 to 2018 the average freshwater pear cultured production was 1928 tonne while China continued to dominate world freshwater pearl culture (FAO, 2020). However, the freshwater pearl culture production has declined from 3321 tonne in 2009 to 703 tonne in 2018. This drastic decline may be due to overexploitation, habitat degradation, pollution, lack of proper management and many more and it has threatened long term sustainability of fisheries and this farming sector. It gives an alarming call for all fisheries managers and policy makers to formulate management measures to implement for the betterment of the sector. Though this farming technology has a great potential to increase the aqua economy of the country, growth should be sustainable.

Introduction

Ornamental fishes have been recognized as the important avenue for the income and employment generation in the country. The economic activities of ornamental fish culture involve a complete chain of the entrepreneurs and enterprises i.e. fish collectors from natural water bodies, local traders, exporters, manufacturers of the aquarium, fish breeders, ornamental fish farmers, vendors etc. With the increase in income and urbanization, the habit of keeping ornamental fishes has been increasing at rapid pace. However, there are no consitenet markets for Indian ornamental fish and a regular fluctuation with respect to destinations is reported since the geographical spread of the markets has exhibited an ever changing hue. The top markets of ornamental f ish from India are Singapore, USA, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan, which jointly accounted for about 70% of total India ornamental fish export. Amongst them Singapore alone accounts for almost 43% of total export in ornamental f ishes followed by Japan (14%) and Malaysia (10%). USA and Hong Kong both accounted for 7.5% each. However, contribution of India in world market is negligible. In India, the main objectives of ornamental fisheries are employment generation, women empowerment and earning foreign exchange. Keeping the imense potential of ornamental fish trade in mind the sector is identified as one of the thrust areas for development to augment exports in the country. To prosper any trade there are three pre-requisites called sustainability, quality and quantity.Potential natural resources of indigenous ornamental f ish of high value in the country has greatly contributed in development of ornamental fish industry.It provides enhanced cash income and thus provides better living standards for those involved in the trade. About 400 species of marine ornamental fish and 375 freshwater ornamental varities are available in varoius parts of our country. The domestic trade of ornamental fish is mainly dominated by production and marketing of low value ornamental fish like Gold fish, Koi carp, Sharks, Gourami, Angels, Barbs, Live bearers etc. The retail prices for these fishes vary around INR 15-50 each. The sustainable growth in this segment is possible through captive breeding to ensure a constant supply of hatchery-bred young ones to the global markets round the year. Breeding and culture of ornamental fish can be a promising alternative livelihood for women and unemplyed youth. The key factors for success in commercialization of ornamental fish farming are cluster/group approach in farming with wide species variability, production scale, and quality. The price competitiveness is limiting the middlemen to possible extent in the marketing and overcoming the supply or delivery limitations. Recognizing the potential and possibilities, Government of India has envisaged a program to unlock the country’s ornamental fisheries sector through implementing different activities in this sector. Implementation of Ornamental Fisheries on pilot basis, in its scope and reach, focuses mainly on creating an enabling environment for a sustainable and holistic development and management of ornamental fisheries for the socio-economic benefit & development of ornamental fisheries in India. Thrust areas have been identified for enhancing ornamental fish production through farming and conservation of natural resources through habitat restoration and creating mass awareness amongst the stakeholders.

Introduction

The global aquaculture production in 2020 was recorded at 122.6 million tonnes, aquatic animals contributing 87.5 million tonnes and algae 35.1 million tonnes, with a total value of USD 281.5 billion. About one-third of this production comes from farming of the marine species. Asian countries dominated the world aquaculture by producing 91.6 % of the total (FAO, 2022). With 14.16 million metric tonnes production in 2019-20, India is the world’s second-largest aquaculture producer next to China, accounting for 7.56 % of global production. It contributes about 1.24 % to the country’s GVA and over 7.28 % to the agricultural GVA. During 2019-20, India has exported 12.89 lakh metric tons of fisheries products valued at Rs.46, 662/- crores (USD 6.68 billion). The major farmed species in India are the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and Indian Major Carps (IMC). While issues related to freshwater scarcity and pollution will slow the growth of freshwater aquaculture in coming years, mariculture has been identified as an area of high growth opportunity.

Globally, an estimated two billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition and one billion calorie deficient. Thus, providing adequate nutrition to the growing population is a global challenge. Fish currently provides 17% of the world’s animal protein, and exceeds 50% in the diets of many least-developed countries (FAO, 2022). One of the most documented nutritional benefits of seafood is the health benefits of unsaturated fatty acids in marine fish and their contribution to brain development, metabolic function, and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Seafood also provides essential micronutrients that promote support growth and development, especially in children and pregnant women (FAO, 2022). The proportion of fish eating people in India has been grown from 27.7% in 1987-88 to 50 % in 2015-16. The annual per capita consumption of fish for the entire population was estimated at 5-6 kg, whereas for fish eating population it was found to be 8-9 kg (Shyam, 2016). Assessment of the present trend shows that to meet the increasing demands from the domestic consumers and to cater to the export market, fish production has to come mostly from marine sector only. It is therefore considered that mariculture is the only option for production enhancement from marine sector.

Introduction

Trout farming is considered as one of the oldest forms of commercial fish production and dates back to 400 years in Europe and about 150 years in US (Hinshaw, 1990). In India, the upper Himalayan region and Western Ghats are the areas where trout culture and farming are restricted due to suitable climatic conditions. The UT of J&K, especially Kashmir region plays a major role towards trout culture, thus being major contributor of trout as well. In Kashmir, the introduction of trout started in the year 1899 with the arrival of first batch of Brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) ova of 10,000 eyed eggs from England (UK). This introduction of trout eggs to Kashmir was assisted by the Duke of Bedford. Woefully, this batch of 10,000 eggs expired on the way due to the unavailability of air transport. Then, the second batch of trout ova arrived in the year 1900 in a magnificent condition from Howeiton in Scotland, assisted by Mr. J.S. Macdonall consisting of 1800 fry. Out of these 1000 swim-up fry were successfully reared up to the adulthood and the first spawning or eggtaking of Salmo trutta fario, was done in December 1905 at Harwan near Srinagar (Kashmir) by F. J. Mitchell and rest of 800 fry were reared at his personal residence in Bhag - i - Dilawar Khan in the heart of city near Khankah-i-Moula. In 1905-1906, Mitchell succeeded in establishing a regular Trout Hatchery at Harwan Srinagar Kashmir, having a capacity of 100,000 green eggs. Since then brown trout has established itself throughout the Kashmir and parts of Jammu notably in Baderwah and Poonch providing f ly and spoon fishing year after year to thousands of anglers visiting the state.It was from Kashmir that brown trout spread to other sections of the Himalayas. In 1912, Mitchell succeeded in hatching and rearing rainbow trout eggs from a consignment presented to him by the Bristol Water Works England. Today J&K Fisheries Department has achieved remarkable success in trout culture (Hassan and Pandey 2012). In the year 1984, Trout Fish Farming Project was established at Kokernag under cold water fisheries by the assistance of European Economic Community, serving as mother unit for the production of quality seed of Rainbow trout and Brown trout.This project provided a major thrust to the trout fisheries in the UT of J&K from last two decades.Besides this, there is another trout hatchery at Laribal Srinagar where quality trout seed of rainbow trout and brown trout is being produced (Hassan and Pandey 2012).

Introduction

One of the greatest challenges facing the world is how to meet the nutritional needs of a growing human population that is projected to hit 10 billion by 2050. To meet the additional food demands imposed by the nearly 30% population increase, global food production has to increase by as much as 50% (FAO, 2017). This problem is further multiplied due to the imminent threat of an acute shortage of space to grow food, degradation of arable land, limited resources, climate change etc. in traditional ways (Yang and Kim, 2020). Between 1984 and 2016, India faced depletion of arable land at a rate of 0.12 % per year, which means we are left with land to live on, but shortage of food. Hence, to tackle these problems, there is a need to adopt intensive, environmentally friendly, multidimensional and sustainable food production systems like aquaponics (Dijkgraaf et al., 2019).

Aquaponics is a sustainable method of growing fish, and vegetables as well as f lowers (Mohapatra et al., 2020). It is becoming quite popular with individuals as well as commercial farming entrepreneurs, and governments interested in modern farming for year-round food production in different climatic conditions. Moreover, with this type of versatile farming, we can grow considerably more food with less water, land and labour than the traditional farming systems.

Fisheries: A glance

The fisheries sector is a complex enterprise that includes capture and culture based fisheries, including mariculture, coastal aquaculture, freshwater aquaculture, and cold-water fish culture that contribute to the country’s food, health, economy, exports, employment, and tourism. Fisheries and aquaculture continue to provide millions of people with food, nutrition, revenue, and a means of subsistence. Fish is an inexpensive and high-quality source of animal protein, making it an excellent choice for reducing hunger and malnutrition in the country. In 2020, global aquaculture production reached a new high of 122.6 million tonnes, including 87.5 million tonnes of aquatic animals valued at USD 264.8 billion. Inland aquaculture produced 54.4 million tonnes, while marine and coastal aquaculture made 68.1 million tonnes. Over time, the Indian fishing industry evolved and became a significant socioeconomic asset for the country (FAO, SOFIA, 2022) India is the world’s third-largest producer of fish and aquaculture, accounting around 16% of total inland and 5% of total marine fish production. In 2021 22. The overall marine and inland fish production in India was 162. 48 lakh tonnes, with 121.21 lakh tonnes and 41.27 lakh tonnes coming from the inland and marine sectors, respectively. The fishing industry is vital to the national economy and is a major contributor to the country’s foreign exchange gains. India’s fish production has risen from 56.56 lakh tonnes in 2000-01 to 162.48 lakh tonnes in 2021-22.The majority of fish produced is for human consumption, and this proportion is predicted to increase from 89% in the base year (2016-18) to 91% by 2028 (OECD/FAO, 2019). In 2021-22, frozen f ish, cuttlefish, and squid contributed 6%, 3%, and 5% of total marine product export value, respectively.

Introduction

Aquaculture has emerged as a viable business model having high growth potential for the entrepreneurs and start-ups in India. The rate of adoption of the aqua-business models for new age entrepreneurs has been very high in recent times. Some of the viable business models that are technology based and scalable have been attractive to the entrepreneurs are in the indoor aquaculture system like RAS, Biofloc systems. It offers many advantages like low space requirements, easy monitoring, higher level of intensification, easy management, short supply chain to the urban markets etc. These indoor aquaculture system are broadly defined as peri-urban aquaculture system offering high growth potential to the entreprenuers in India. The chapter provides a broad outline of the opportunities and recent trends of entrepreneurial developments through peri-urban aquaculture.

Entrepreneurship is the risk taking ability and readiness to venture into a new economic enterprise, along with all its challenges in order to make profit. One of the examples of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses in any field with business potential. In other words, entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value (Diochon et al. 2011; Gaddefors et al. 2017; Alvarez, et al. 2001). It is also viewed as a change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values than simply economic ones. A person gets the benefits as he invests in one or more businesses, bearing most of the risks and availing most of the rewards. According to Shane (2000), entrepreneurship comprises both “enterprising individuals” and “entrepreneurial opportunities”[4]. An entrepreneur is generally seen as an innovator, a source of innovative ideas, services, and business.

Introduction

The Himalayan and peninsular regions of India comprise of diverse coldwater resources in terms of upland rivers, fast flowing streams, high, mid and low altitude natural lakes and reservoirs (Singh and Akhtar, 2015; Singh and Sarma, 2017; Sarma et al, 2018). The Indus, the Brahmaputra and the Ganga basins in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is a domicile of over 4 % of the country’s population having rich repository of biodiversity, a natural habitat of over 8000 species of flowering plants, 816 tree species, 675 edibles, nearly 1740 species of medicinal plants and about 258 species of fish (Singh and Akhtar, 2015; Pramanik and Bhaduri, 2016; Singh and Sarma, 2017). IHR mainly encompasses the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh where the diverse natural resource-base and wide climatic range, harbour huge inhabitants of endemic, indigenous and exotic coldwater fish species extending an enormous scope of developing upland farming practices (Singh and Sarma, 2017; Singh, 2020), game and ornamental f isheries of large extent (Zaidi et al., 2018). These can provide an excellent opportunities for augmenting livelihood security of upland people residing in the Himalayan terrain, where opportunities to earn revenue is difficult and hard to adopt the farming practices. Today, the Himalayan states offer a unique value proposition in coldwater fisheries to harness its potential. There is an increasing trend of coldwater fish production from the present level of 52,084 MT to 90 thousand MT by FY 2024-25 boosting current productivity from ~1 ton/ha to 3 ton/ha. Coldwater fisheries in the country is now occupying a key place among India’s freshwater fishes, contributing significantly to the nutritional security and job creation in rural hilly areas. More than 1.40 lakh fishermen in India directly depend on coldwater fisheries in hilly areas. In Himalayan region, aquaculture and fisheries represent an essential, often irreplaceable source of high quality animal protein crucial to the balance of diets in marginally food secure communities. The aquatic resources in the IHR are quite valuable for the development of aquaculture and fishery for food, sport, recreation and employment. In this paper, the author has attempted to present possible opportunities in coldwater aquaculture and fisheries which has great promises of future for job creation and nutritional security.

Introduction

Aquaculture and Fisheries remain important sources of food, nutrition, income, and livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people around the world including in India. Total fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record of 214 million tonnes in 2020, comprising 178 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 36 million tonnes of algae (FAO 2022). Global aquaculture production continued to grow amid the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global aquaculture production consisted of; 87.5 million tonnes of aquatic animals predominantly used as food for human consumption; 35.1 million tonnes of seaweeds and other micro-algae for both food and non-food uses. Global consumption of aquatic foods has increased significantly. In 2019, global aquatic food consumption was estimated at 158 million tonnes and consumption increased at an average annual rate of 3.0 percent from 1961, compared with a population growth rate of 1.6 percent. In India, the total fish production during the year 20-21 is estimated at 14.73 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) with a contribution of 11.25 MMT from the inland sector and 3.48 MMT from the marine sector. The fisheries sector contributes about 1.24% to the gross value added (GVA) and 7.28% to the agricultural GVA. In India, the changing consumer preferences, advancements in technology and income growth are the real drivers that augur well for further expansion and demand of food from aquatic origin. Against this backdrop, this sector is poised for unprecedented growth and opening various avenues of entrepreneurship.

Introduction

Fisheries and Aquaculture remains to be an important source of food, nutrition, income, and livelihood to millions of people. Fish is an affordable and good source of animal protein, a good option to reduce hunger and malnutrition in the country. India has bountiful resources comprising inland, brackish and marine water along with diverse fish and shellfish species. Indian Fisheries sector evolved gradually over the years and became an important socio economic attribute for the nation. India is the third-largest fish and aquaculture producing country and accounts for about 16% of total inland and 5% of total global marine fish production respectively. In 2021-22, India’s total marine and inland fish production stood at 16.24 million metric tonne (MMT), which includes 12.12 MMT and 4.13 MMT from inland and marine sectors, respectively. The annual growth rate in the marine sector was observed at around 18.7 %, whereas inland sector achieved more than 7.76 % during 2021 22 ( Table 17.1).The fishery potential of the country has been estimated to the tune of 22.31 MMT out of which Marine fisheries potential is 5.31 MMT and Inland fishery potential is 17 MMT. (Table 17.3).

Marine fisheries activities are spread along the country’s long coastline (8118 km) and in the vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ 2.02 million km2). The inland resources are in the form of rivers and canals (0.19 million km), f loodplain lakes (1.0 million ha), ponds and tanks (2.43 million ha), reservoirs (3.15 million ha), brackish water (1.18 million ha), saline/alkaline affected areas (0.24 million ha), and such others etc., covering about 9 million ha, providing livelihood to 16 million (Table 17.2). In this direction sea cage culture may play an important role in rapid expansion of seafood production at global level. In present scenario, due to limited availability of fish fingerling we may not expand sea cage culture to the optimum level. Therefore, need of hour is to strengthen the available infrastructure and other needed backward and forward support system enhancing for fish seed production apart from developing market linkages with diversification of species.

I always feel I am very lucky and got a chance to live in this beautiful God gifted planet by blessings of God and whatever God fixed for me I am trying my best to do so that I can fulfil my journey and reach to my destine and finally will back to the same place where I came. My father was a Botany Lecturer, he retired from his job in the year 2009 and my Mother is a house wife. I have one brother and two sisters. All are married now and me my misses, my son (Calyx) staying at my native village with my parents after I came back from Indian Agricultural research Institute and my brother and two sisters are staying at Bhubaneswar. I have a very small family staying happily at my village. I have completed my schooling at my village school which is just 1 km away from my home. My village Garh Guatira is belongs to Nimapara block of Puri district of Odissha and it is just 50 km away from Bhubaneswar. My village is very small which is surrounded by agriculture field specially 90% area is under rice cultivation. So I spent my childhood with my natural village climate and maximum time I spent in the village surroundings with its natural activities. I got first class in Botany (Hons) with distinction from the Nimapara college and it was one of the best moments for me, at least one step I moved towards my destination.

An Overview of Fish and Shellfish Health Management in Aquaculture in India

Aquaculture in India in particular freshwater fish culture comprised mainly of Indian major carp cultivation has a long history. Since 1980s commercial carp culture expanded, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and in few years became an Asia model. Then on, it is slowly and steadily expanding to different parts of the country particularly Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Of late, culture of Pungasius (Basa) has come up on large scale in AP. In addition, there is also growing small scale commercial cultivation of catfish, murrels, tilapia and freshwater prawn(Macrobrachium rosenbergii). Aquarium fish breeding is also expanding to establish itself as an industry in India.

Brackish water culture has been practiced traditionally in India in Pokkali fields of Kerala, Bheries of West Bengal and Ghaznis of Karnataka since hundreds of years. From 1990 onwards, commercial shrimp culture came into existence along the coasts of India. High export value, support from government and short culture period encouraged private entrepreneurs to pursue shrimp farming in a big way. There is vast potential for fish culture in brackish water and at the present efforts are on to popularize culture of Asian seabass, mullets, Eutroplus and milk fish. Mariculture is still at infancy but increasing at a slow and steady rate.

Aquaculture health management has to be viewed from the incidences and outbreak of diseases due to growth and expansion of the industry. Aquaculture has expanded tremendously in the last three decades, growing at 6-7 % annually. Contribution of fish production from aquaculture in the country is around 60 % compared to 10 % it was 40 years ago. In few years to come, aquaculture contribution may go up to 80 % of total fish production. Today 2.43 m ha of freshwater and 1.15 m ha of brackish water are under culture. In addition, 8.62 m. ha of irrigated inland area mainly in Haryana, Maharastra and Karnataka which have become saline and unsuitable for agriculture are slowly being reclaimed for aquaculture. Farmers are growing acclamatized saltwater fish and shrimp spp in inland saline waters and a shift like this may favour pathogens with different virulence to cause disease. Overall, it can be seen that in addition to increased conventional areas in fresh and brackish water, aquaculture is being practiced in unconventional areas like saline soils. Performance of fish and shellfish in these non conventional water bodies in the long run needs to be studied from their health point of view.

Diseases are among the greatest deterrents to the sustained production in aquaculture. White spot disease (WSD) in penaed shrimp and epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) in fresh and brackish water fishes are the well known devastating diseases with serious impact in aquaculture. Aquaculture medicine which broadly encompasses prevention and management of diseases in cultured aquatic organisms becomes a vital requirement for a sustained industry.

The four K’s essential for scientific aquaculture health management are knowledge about the disease process, knowledge about the pathogen, knowledge about the host and the knowledge about the environment. Disease development process is often complicated and involves host-pathogen- environment interactions. Knowledge about the pathogen, attaching and entering the host, deriving nourishment, reproduction, transmission, overcoming host defence barriers, etc are very essential. Susceptibility of a host to a pathogen is important which depends on host species, age, size, immuno competence and stress response. Besides knowledge about how the temporal and spatial aspects of environment stress the host and favour the pathogen to cause disease is vital

Disease Development Process

There exist a delicate balance between the host, pathogen and the environment. When this delicate balance gets upset, disease can result. Aquaculture environments can stress the host, favour the pathogen and result in disease development. To appreciate the process of disease development understanding the pathogenicity mechanisms of the pathogens, disease resistance mechanism of the host and the role of the environment is essential. Furthermore, role of various pathogens, their adaptive modifications, the functional importance of the target tissue, interaction between pathogen and host at the target tissue level, pathogenicity mechanisms of pathogens, etc are necessary to gain insight into process of disease development. Only when a pathogen can establish on or in the host, proliferate, overcome the non-specific and/or specific defense barriers of the host, produce the pathogenic factors, cause cellular and tissue damage, produce significant pathological changes, impair the function of the target tissue cause clinical disease often with mortality. This process is very complicated which often get accelerated by stress and environmental factors. However, the sequence of disease development will to a large extent depend on the nature and load of the pathogen (parasite, bacteria, fungi, virus), its intensity per unit area or unit weight of the host, size of the host and environmental factors.

An Overview of Parasitic Diseases in Asian Aquaculture

Parasitic induced diseases bring about significant economic losses in fish culture system. Estimated loss due to mortality and morbidity of fish due to parasitic infection is much more than that from microbial diseases. Protozoan ciliates (Ichthyopthirius, Trichodina) and flagellates (Ichthybodo, cryptobia) are some of the common ectoparasites of fish. Certain ectocommensal ciliates (Epistylis, Vorticella and Zoothamnium) attach to the external surface of fish leading to fouling. These protozoan ectoparasites are often associated with mortalities of younger stages of cultured fish. The situation becomes worst in water with low oxygen and high organic matter. Most extoparasitic protozoans have simple and short life cycle and reproduce by binary fission. Most protozoan ectoparasites are readily detected in direct microscopic examination of skin and gill scrapings. Histopathological changes in the integument following ectoparasitic protozoan infection are outcome of two counteracting cellular processes – hyperplasia of the epithelial cells, including mucus cells and chloride cells, versus a progressive cellular destruction. Cellular necrosis primarily occurs due to the feeding and attachment activity of the parasites. Generally, immersion therapy using suitable chemicals can control ectoparasitic protozoan infections

Disease caused by endoparasitic sporozoans are a serious threat to fish farms. These sporozoan spores present in the pond soil are normally ingested by the fish. The infective element of the spore (sporoplasm) is released in the gut. The sporoplasm reaches the target tissue using the vascular route. Once inside the target tissue, the vegetative trophozoites cause massive destruction of the target tissue and produce large spore containing cysts. There are two types of sporozoan infecting fish and shell fish namely myxosporidian and microsporidian. Myxosporidian occur in fish either as histozoic (intercellular tissue parasites) or as coelozoic (inside the lumen of various ducts and tubules) parasites. Microsporidians are intracellular obligatory parasites and lead to massive hypertrophy of infected cells (xenomas). There is no effective treatment for sporozoans. However, treating pond soil with chemicals and lime is the best option.

With increasing fish culture activities several bacterial diseases causing morbidity and mortality in fish have been reported in tropical and subtropical aquaculture systems. Common and major diseases are due to motile aeromonads, Vibrios and Pseudomonas. However, bacterial diseases of minor nature have also been reported from aquacultural systems. In the last two decades several new diseases due to Streptococcus sp, Edwardsiella and Ricketsia have also emerged.

Bacteria can cause disease either as primary pathogens or as secondary opportunistic invaders. Bacterial diseases in fish can be broadly classified as surface ulcerative, acute systemic and chronic granulomatous types (Table 1, Plates 4 and 5). Surface ulcerative types of diseases are characterized by hemorrhagic surface ulcers and are caused by species of Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Vibrios, Flexibacteria and Myxobacteria. Surface ulcerative disease conditions at times develop to acute systemic disease. Acute systemic disease are characterized by the presence and proliferation of bacteria in internal organs like kidney, heart, spleen, blood and other visceral organs. These diseases produce significant necrotic changes in all affected organs and can cause mortality in a short time scale. Bacterial hemorrhagic septicemia caused by Aeromonas hydrophila is a major problem in carp farms. Chronic granulomatous type of disease conditions are characterized by the formation of granulomas or nodules with the initiating bacteria in the centre. These conditions will not produce mass mortality but can produce chronic low levels of mortality and can significantly reduce growth.

A. Bacterial Diseases in Shrimp

Bacterial diseases in hatcheries and farms are being increasingly recognised as major hurdles to successful shrimp farming (Plate 6). Among the several bacterial diseases, diseases due to Vibrio sp. (vibriosis) are common. As majority of the Vibrio are secondary opportunistic pathogens, problems related to vibriosis can be traced to stress, poor water quality and bad management. It is widely accepted that the ubiquitous opportunistic vibrios are always responsible for causing mortalities in shrimp which are already stressed by poor water quality, external fouling and primary pathogens like viruses.

Vibrios are gram negative, oxidase positive, motile rods. Most frequently reported species in hatchery situations include Vibrio harveyi, V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus. All species of cultured shrimp are susceptible to vibriosis under stressful condition.

The common clinical signs associated with vibriosis are: 1) high mortalities, particularly in PL and young juveniles shrimp, 2) Moribund shrimp appearing hypoxic and often coming to pond surface and edges, 3) Reddening of shrimp, 4) Shell and appendage necrosis with blackening, 5) Presence of luminiscence in affected shrimp in tanks and ponds.

Viruses are submicroscopic particles made up of nucleic acid covered with a protein coat. The nucleic acid is either RNA or DNA and not both. Protein coat is often covered with an envelope and depending on the presence or absence of an envelope, virus can be an enveloped or non enveloped virus. Size of the virus vary from 20-200 nm. Shape of the virus varies from a simple icosahedra to bullet shape to complex brick shape.

Virus are classified based on their nucleic acid (DNAor RNA) and protein profile. However, additional details on type of disease, host range, and geographic distribution of the virus are also used in classification. The classification of the virus is decided by the International committee on taxonomy of virus (ICTV).

Viruses are obligatory intracellular parasites requiring a living cell to replicate. As the virion is lacking its own metabolic machinery, it depends fully on the living host cell for machinery and raw materials for its metabolism and replication. This complex biology of the virus has made it difficult to clearly identify a viral process to design drugs for selective killing without damaging the host cell. Any attempt to kill the intracellular virus affects the host cell.

Replication of Virus in a Cell

There are two kinds of entry into and exit of virus from a cell: a) receptor mediated endocytosis (RME), b) direct entry by fusion. Non-enveloped virus enter the cell by RME (Fig. 1). RME of virus is similar to regular entry of other macromolecules into the cell. With this receptor mediated specified process, virus enter a cell in a vesicle which later fuses with lysosome. Inside the lysosome, viral particles undergo partial changes in protein coat due to digestion by lysosomal enzymes and move to cytoplasm. Finally, this uncoated nucleic acid replicates followed by synthesis of proteins and assembly of viral capsid proteins and genome to full blown virus particles. The site of assembly of the virus may be in the cytoplasm or nucleus of a cell which is referred to as inclusion body. Inclusion bodies which varies in size, shape, location and staining reaction can be used as a diagnostic feature for some viruses. Non- enveloped virus exit from a cell by damaging plasma membrane and hence clearly show cytopathic effect(CPE) in cell culture.

A. Viral Diseases of Shrimp

Shrimp farming which has grown to an industry in the last three decades is young compared to fish farming in the world. Yet the shrimp farming is facing serious problems with several types of viral diseases. Intensive culture in hatcheries and grow outs along with movement of stock across national and international borders of these animals with poor immune system has encouraged emergence of large number of viruses. During a short span of 30 years, 15 viruses of economic concern have been reported in shrimp culture of the Asia Pacific region. Shrimp viruses (Plate 8) can be broadly categorised into two groups:

1. Viruses infecting ectodermal (epidermis, hypodermal epithelium of fore and hindgut, nerve cord and nerve ganglia) and mesodermal (hematopoitic organs, antennal gland, gonads, lymphoid organ, connective tissue and striated muscle) origin tissues and replicating within the cytoplasm (YHV, TSV) and within the nucleus (IHHNV, WSSV), 2. viruses like MBV, HPV, BMNV, and BP infecting endodermal origin tissue and replicating within the nucleus of hepatopancreatic and mid gut epithelial cells. Lack of established shrimp cell line is the major drawback in study of shrimp viruses. Following are some of the common viruses causing diseases in shrimp hatcheries and grow out ponds in the Asia Pacific region.

Introduction

Oomycete and fungal diseases are considered as the second most economically impactful diseases in aquaculture, after bacterial diseases. However, among both the diseases, oomycetes are more common. The oomycetes are members of the Kingdom Chromista, which also includes diatoms, kelps, and brown algae. These group of pathogens form free-swimming zoospores and their cell walls are composed of cellulose and glycans rather than chitin. Fish-pathogenic oomycetes (Saprolegnia, Achlya, Aphanomyces and Branchiomyces), are commonly known as water moulds, are ubiquitously distributed in a variety of aquatic environments and ecological niches, and belong to the Order Saprolegniales. These pathogens have low host specificity and infect a diverse range of fishes. On the other hand, most of the fungi (Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., Candida sp., Paecilomyces sp., Penicillium sp. and Cladosporium sp.) responsible for infection in fish, form non-motile spores and their cell walls are made up of chitin. In addition, Ichthyophonus sp. an important pathogen which, superficially appears like fungus and produces spores and hyphae, belongs to a distinct clade of protistan parasites. Among the oomycete diseases, infection with A. invadans is considered as one of the most serious fish disease. Therefore, the disease is discussed elaborately.

Infection with Aphanomyces invadans: Infection with Aphanomyces invadans is popularly known as, Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS). It has a complex infectious aetiology and is clinically characterised by the presence of invasive Aphanomyces infection and necrotising ulcerative lesions, typically leading to a granulomatous response (Plates 9 and 10). In an expert consultation held during the sidelines of the Fifth Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture (DAAV) at Gold Coast, Australia in November 2002, it was proposed to rename the disease as epizootic granulomatous aphanomycosis; however, the term EUS is still used popularly.

In the past several Non infectious diseases (NIDs) of fish and shellfish have been observed in natural waters. However, with expansion in fresh, brackish and marine aquaculture including aquarium keeping world wide there is a phenomenonal increase in incidences of NIDs and economic loss. Common Non infectious diseases (NIDs) in fish are 1.Gas bubble disease(GBD), 2. Body deformities(BD), 3.Nutritional diseases(ND) and 4. Disease due to harmful algal bloom(DHAB)

1. Gas Bubble Disease (GBD)

Gas bubble disease (GBD), is caused by supersaturation of gases in water. The gas involved is nitrogen in most cases and rarelycarbon dioxide and oxygen can cause GBD as these two gases are used by fish tissues and readily processed.Oxygen can cause gas-bubble disease at about 350 per cent air saturation, but nitrogen can cause the disease even below 118 per cent. GBD becomes prominent whenever there is a change in temperature, pressure and turbulance in aquatic environment, leading to disturbance in metabolism of f ishes. Bubbles of gas may form in the eyes, skin, gills, fins and within the internal organs where small bubbles may coalesce into larger bubbles.Fish absorb the excess gas, which forms bubbles in the small blood vessels, due to pressure changes inside their body. Gas bubble disease (GBD), is seen both in captive and wild fish. When bubbles affect internal organs, some fish may diesometimes without obvious clear clinical signswhile other fish may be chronically affected, and have a reduced appetite, activity and buoyancy. GBD can also cause secondary bacterial, viral or protozoan infections.All fish and shelfishspecies as well as amphibians and aquatic invertebrates are susceptible to GBD.Sensitivity of fish to GBD in terms of pathology and mortality varies with species and age.

Introduction

Fish is the cleanest animal, gets bath 24 hrs a day provided water is clean without any toxic material. Perhaps this was the scenario world over 5 decades ago. However, in the last few decades due to industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture and animal husbandry, human health care industry and city developments all have contributed to toxic material to water endangering the fish and the consumer, leave alone clean environment. In recent years, even intensive aquaculture also add several chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics contributing to pollution. Natural water bodies such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, scoastal/marine waters are ultimate receivers of pollutants which also serve as the source of water for aquaculture. Although pollution control by treatment measures and awareness have improved over the years still there is a long way to achieve the clean water. Effect of toxins in aquaculture has multiple angles, differing from that of toxins on land animal. Fish depends heavily on water for respiration, physiology, reproduction, food and feeding and its very sustenance- as a supporting medium.

Aquaculture is expanding world over growing at 6-8% gradually involving more areas and species contributing a major share to total fish production with gradual decline in capture fisheries from the natural water bodies. Invariably, most of the natural water bodies are polluted with one pollutant or the other in the country. In addition, several pollutants are added to the system by various aquacultural practices. Although large quantity of information is available on aquatic toxicology, toxicology in aquaculture from health point view of fish and the consumer is meager and not focused. Against this background, it is very important to study, understand various toxicants, their mode of action, accumulation and effect on fish and the consumer. Toxicology in aquaculture is incomplete unless it includes or addresses safety of the consumers. Further, poisoning of fish in farms and wild deliberately or otherwise needs forensic studies/approach to address the issues.

Epidemiology is the study of diseases in a population in its natural setting. In epidemiology, the population is the patient and hence epidemiology is population medicine. All epidemiological studies are field based. In aquatic epidemiology, aquaculture ponds serve as the laboratory. This can be a great advantage over laboratory studies, which cannot be easily extrapolated to field conditions.

Diseases are among the greatest deterrents to the sustained production in aquaculture. Diseases such as Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) in fishes and White Spot Syndrome (WSS) in shrimps have devastated aquaculture with bad impact on productivity and profitability. Various diagnostic and health management tools are being used to devise disease control strategies. It is becoming increasingly difficult to manage pathogens that have become endemic. Epidemiological approaches which have been very successful in human and veterinary medicine are now being increasingly recognised as important weapons that can be used in aquaculture to formulate disease control programmes.

Concept of Cause for a Disease

Cause from an epidemiological perspective is interpreted in quite a wide sense. This is somewhat different to the more traditional view of the role of cause being restricted to etiological agents. An epidemiological definition of a cause of a disease is “an event, condition or characteristic that plays an essential role in producing an occurrence of the disease”. Epidemiologists avoid defining the word cause for any disease outbreak, but prefer to use words such as determinants, exposures and risk factors. Alternatively, they will categorise causes as direct or indirect; necessary or sufficient; and single or multiple rather than defining primary etiology.

Introduction

Aquaculture and Zoonotic Diseases

Diseases that can transfer from wild or domestic animals to humans are referred to zoonosis (Fig 1). Zoonosis also includes biotoxin producing agents from fish to human beings which is well documented. There are a number of pathogens which spread from fish and shellfish to human and other domestic animals causing diseases.There are also many other infectious organisms of fish origin that have not been reported but have potential to infect and harm man. Zoonotic diseases originated from fish and shellfish have been documented in the past mostly from wild caught fish and shellfish. However, in the last 30 years as the capture fisheries is declining and aquaculture is growing steadily worldwide, zoonotic incidences from the latter are increasing.

Aquaculture growing at 6-7% annually world over including India is contributing to 50-60% of total fish production today. Additionally, aquarium industry is booming worldwide. Therefore,incidences and scale of zoonosis due to aquaculture are quite different from that from capture or wild fisheries. Disease outbreaks in cultured fish are often by pathogens indigenous to aquatic environment. In aquaculture, disease outbreaks are associated with quality and quantity of nutrients and high stocking density which increase pathogen load leading to easy transmission to human. Apparently healthy fishes may also harbor bacterial pathogens, especially in their kidneys and intestines. World Health Organisation (WHO) considers many diseases in aquatic animals as emerging type. Emerging diseases appear in a population for the first time or it may have been existed before, but is now increasing rapidly. Usually information on zoonotic potential of emerging diseases is limited which is essential to disseminate to human health managers. Potential biological contamination of aquaculture products can occur from bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and biotoxins. The location of the farm, the species being farmed, water temperature, husbandry systems, postharvest processing, and habits in food preparation and consumption are among the main factors influencing the zoonotic risk associated with aquatic animals and their products.

Disease diagnosis refers to the various procedures and techniques used to identify the nature of disease and to precisely pinpoint the primary and secondary pathogens involved. Disease diagnosis is an integral part of health management. Proper diagnosis helps to adopt accurate therapy and avoids indiscriminate use of chemotherapeutics. Information on case history and clinical signs should be carefully used while examining samples for diagnosis. By following rational and scientific sampling protocols, one can hope to arrive at accurate diagnosis. Sampling methodology is key to the success of proper disease diagnosis. Dead fish/shrimp should never be used for any diagnostic purpose. Autolytic post-mortem changes, saprophytic invaders, spoilage organisms, etc. mask the actual etiological agents and can lead to false diagnosis.

The three commonly used conventional diagnostic approaches are fresh examination using microscope, microbiological methods and histopathology. With little facilities and infrastructure, fresh microscopical diagnostic approach can be done at the farm/hatchery site itself. Gross examinations along with simple skin and gill preparations examined under microscope can many a times give very good information about the disease and the etiology. All fresh preparations should be made from live or moribund fish and the preparations should be wet and moist. The fish meant for examination should be kept wet and not allowed to dry. Many of the commonly occurring external disease problems can be easily diagnosed by this method.

Systemic bacterial diseases need to be positively diagnosed by adopting the microbiological approach. Samples for bacterial isolations should be taken from kidney, blood, body cavity, etc. from live or moribund fish following strict aseptic conditions. In shrimp, it is ideal to use hemolymph for bacterial isolations. Dominant bacterial isolates are identified following standard procedures and their antibacterial sensitivity tested before recommending any antibacterial therapy. This method requires a minimum of 4-5 days.

Introduction

Development and standardisation of diagnostics for aquaculture health management have undergone great improvements over the last three decades. Diagnosis in aquaculture health management involves several stages starting from farm-level observations to conventional laboratory identification and histopathology to sophisticated modern molecular tools. Accordingly, diagnosis can be broadly categorised under three levels depending on the level of scientific development.

1. level-I detection system, farm site observation and record-keeping;

2. level-II system, conventional laboratory identification employing microbiology, parasitology, and histopathology and

3. level-III system, advanced and specialized immunological and biomolecular techniques.

The interaction of an antibody with an antigen forms the basis of all immunochemical techniques. Antibody binds specifically to an antigen at epitope or antigenic determinant level and this property has been used for development of immunodiagnosis. Furthermore, as antibodies react with antigen at ambient conditions and do not require sophisticated equipment ideal field test kits can be developed. Biomolecular tools using nucleic acid probes although very sensitive are costly and time-consuming requiring sophisticated equipment and trained personnel. Against this background, there is always a need for developing simple, low-cost, rapid yet sensitive farm- level diagnostics. Such field-level tests facilitate screening a large number of samples by a large number of poor and medium-sized farmers who constitute a majority in developing countries. Large-scale screening besides empowering farmers is considered to be ideal for effective health management. Antibody probes provide an ideal format for developing simple field-level diagnostics as antigens ideally react with antibodies at ambient conditions without requiring sophisticated equipment. Available technology for raising large quantities of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against pathogens has increased the scope for developing field detection kits in human, animal and agricultural health management. Several farmer-friendly detection systems also referred to as point-of-care (POC) detection method based on antibodies have been innovated in the recent past. POCT is defined as ‘medical diagnostic testing at the time and place of patient care.

Introduction

Nucleic acid based diagnosis is highly specific, sensitive and rapid method widely used in health management. The detection is mainly based on structure and sequence of bases of nucleic acid which are unique to an organism. In recent years, nucleic acid based diagnosis is becoming common and popular in fish and shell fish health management. Commonly employed nucleic acid based diagnosis are DNA hybridisation and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Nucleic acids are made up of nitrogen bases. The primary sequence of bases in DNA or RNA have regions which are unique for a particular organism or gene. The sequence of DNA is composed of a series of four phosphorylated bases Adenine (A), thymidine (T), guanidine (G) and cytosine (C). Pairs of bases (A=T, or G=C) can form hydrogen bonds, which cause opposing strands of DNA to form a semi-stable bonding (hybridization or annealing) to one another. If the opposing strands of DNA match exactly, then the familiar double helix form of DNA results. In the following example, the opposing strands in (1) will form a double stranded, tightly bonded structure, and the DNA strands are described as complementary. In (2) the strands are non-complementary (opposing A=T and G=C base pairs do not line up) and the two strands will not bond.

DNA Hybridisation

The basic principle in DNA hybridization is that, if a strand of double helix of DNA is separated from its complement (by heat) it will bind (reanneal or hybridize) only to its complementary strand (or to a duplicate of its complementary strand). Two complementary RNA structure will hybridise in the same manner. Inaccurate and mismatched bindings will be unstable and fall apart.

The binding of one DNA strand to another is in some respect is analogous to binding of antigen and antibody. However, in the case of nucleic acid bindings, the precise molecular nature of binding (base pairing) is known and can be easily manipulated by choosing DNA strand of appropriate length and by incubating the strands in appropriate salt concentration, temperature. The stringency (faithfulness of the match) of hybridisation can be precisely defined and as a result coincidental cross reaction is virtually eliminated.

Introduction

Scope and importance

Aquaculture is breeding, rearing and husbandry of aquatic animals such as f ishes, crustaceans and molluscs for food, ornament and sports. It is a husbandry involving special animals, the cold blooded vertebrates and invertebrates, whose physiology, growth, metabolic activities and overall performance depend heavily on ambient aquatic temperature and environment. Therefore, husbandry and the health management of aquatic animals is quite different from that of the other land based warm blooded animals.

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world including India. Three decades ago, few species were cultured in India mainly in inland waters and then aquaculture was contributing less than 10 % of total f ish production in the country. In the last 25 years, there is a rapid growth in aquaculture with annual rate of 7-8% with significant contribution (above 60%)to total fish production today. The number of species cultured today in India including ornamentals is close to 40. Besides, a good number of plant and animal fish food organisms are cultured to support the hatcheries and nurseries in aquaculture. The area under aquaculture is increasing steadily in inland and coastal brackish water while marine water is also being added up for aquaculture slowly and steadily. Very interestingly, non-traditional environment such as manmade saline soils are also explored successfully for aquaculture. Intensification of culture activity with high stocking density artificial feed and fertilizers is another dimension of aquaculture noteworthy. Large scale movement of aquatic animals and their raw or processed products across national and international borders is important from aquaculture production and health point of view. In general, aquaculture package of practices alter the very water in terms of its chemistry and microbial load and has significant negative impact on the health of fish in culture system.

Farming of fish and shellfish has gained significant grounds in several parts of the world. However, the major bottleneck to successful farming is disease in farmed aquatic animals. In recent years, lot of attention is being given to health management using various forms of immunoprophylactic measures such as vaccination and immunostimulation. To rationalise immunoprophylactic applications, it is vital to have insight into the specific and non-specific defense mechanisms of farmed aquatic animals. Through disease process studies it is very well known that a pathogen can cause disease only if it can overcome the non-specific and specific defence barriers of the host and successfully establish and proliferate. Non-specific and specific immune systems are the two main branches of the defense system. The immunity which an organism derives against a pathogen is the result of a delicate interaction and cooperation between the two systems.

Defense System of Fish

Surface Barriers as Local Immune System

The immune systems present in the surface structures of fish have their potential importance in local immune responses. Important surface barriers are skin, gills and gastrointestinal tract.

Introduction

Aquaculture is given major thrust in many countries including India not only as a source of good quality food of animal origin but also because of economic gains it brings to aqua-farmers, creation of employment and export trade. It has emerged as one of the fastest growing food producing sector sowing to intensification and diversification of culture systems. However, the success of the intensive aquaculture system depends on several factors including species cultured, type of feed, water quality, management practices and strategies adopted to prevent/ control disease problems. Further, the intensive aquaculture operation results in accumulation of wastes leading to water quality deterioration, oxygen depletion, build-up of toxic metabolites such as hydrogen sulphide, methane, ammonia and nitrites that cause stress to culture animals leading to susceptibility to diseases. Among the several challenges that seriously affect the growth and sustainability of aquaculture, the incidence of microbial diseases are considered as major threat. Thus, keeping cultured aquatic animals in good health becomes major requirement for the success of aquaculture.

Though application of chemicals and drugs are often considered necessary to maintain water quality and animal health, use of these, in the long run are known to cause harmful effects both to the animal and the environment. Further, accumulation of drugs and chemicals in tissues, development of resistance to drugs by pathogens, pathogen build up, destruction of useful microorganisms, deterioration of pond environment and toxicity issues have limited their use in aquaculture system. Under these circumstances several alternative strategies have been proposed as viable option for the success of aquaculture in the form of prophylactic measuressuch as use of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, immunostimulants and bacterial vaccines. The term prophylaxis refers to all preventive steps taken including better aquaculture management practices that are adopted during a hatchery and farming operation to improve growth, minimize the load of pathogens and prevent occurrence of diseases.

Any technique that uses living organisms or substances from these organisms to make or modify a product or to improve plant or animal or to develop microorganism for specific uses, can be termed biotechnology. Biotechnology involves microbes or cells derived from plants and animals for efficient production of useful products for mankind. The use of microbes for production of alcohol and penicillin, to name a few, is well known. However, in the last 25 years, several novel organisms, yielding useful products have been created by genetic engineering. Today, there is a wide application of biotechnology in human medicine, agriculture and animal husbandry in the area of diagnosis prophylaxis and therapy.

Aquaculture industry has undergone a sea change world over in the last three decades. The important needs of the industry are development of fast growing disease resistant fish and shellfish varieties, development of cheap and effective vaccines, disease diagnostics, cell lines sand probiotics. Efforts on these lines have already begun since 3-4 decades and results are highly promising. Some of the biotechnologies employed in aquaculture health management (Plate 15) are fish cell lines, monoclonal antibodies and nucleic acids for diagnostics sub unit and nucleic acid vaccines for prophylaxis, transgenes for disease resistance, gene editing in fishes and their pathogens and probiotics for bioremedial measures.

A. Cell Lines for Health Management

Cell lines are transformed cells that are adapted well to grow and multiply outside the host in in vitro culture systems. Cells lines can be developed from fast growing tissues of young fish. There are two methods of developing cell lines (1) Explant method, (2) Enzymatic method. Cell lines are grown in sterile plastic or glass containers containing appropriate medium having nutrients salts, antibiotics, buffers, serum etc. Minimum essential medium (MEM) is the common medium employed for fish cell line. Cell lines are developed, characterised and deposited in national and international repositories, which can be procured for use in research and industry.

Fish are Sentient Animals

There is strong increasing evidence that finfish, like other vertebrates are sentient animals. This means that fish are self-aware, they can feel pain and distress, they have long term and short-term memory and to some extent, they can experience emotions.

Fish are intelligent, sensitive creatures and like many other animals, they explore, travel, socialise, hunt and play. Some species care for their young and use tools as humans do. Fish are sentient animals capable of suffering and feeling pain. Most fish have highly developed senses with excellent taste, smell, hearing and colour vision. Until fairly recently, many people didn’t realise that fish were sentient or feel pain, and the mental abilities of fish were given limited attention by the scientific community. Now, recent discoveries open up a new world of understanding. Far more complex than we ever realised, f ish live rich social lives: communicating; hunting cooperatively; and, in some cases, developing cultural traits. Consensus arrived in the mid-2000s around science demonstrating high-level pain perception in fish, and examinations of fish behaviour are beginning to reveal a picture of fish as complex, social and emotional beings. Appreciation of these facts are not widespread in civil society, but identified in time for the principle of fish welfare to be recognised by legislation by the European Union.

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important cereal grains in the world today and serves as a staple food source for more than half of the world’s particularly in India, China and a number of other countries in Africa and Asia. It occupies an area of about 161 million hectares at global level wi`th production of 503.8 million tones milled basis. More than 90% of the rice is produced and consumed in Asian countries. (FAO United Nation 2017).

Rice provides 21 percent of global human per capita energy and 15% of per capita protein. Although rice protein ranks high in nutritional quality among cereals, protein content is modest. Rice also provides minerals, vitamins, and fiber, although all constituents except carbohydrates are reduced by milling.

Rice commodity recognized as a supreme commodity to mankind, because rice is truly life, culture and tradition. It has its own history and religious importance in human life. India is one of the world’s largest producers of white rice. For India, like many other developing countries, the issue of feeding ever increasing population is of prime importance, this problem can be solved by maximizing agricultural production through use of high yielding varieties and adopting improved package of practices of rice crop. India is facing the challenges of food and fodder production to meet the demand of rising human and cattle population. One of the major causes of this problem is low level of adoption of improved agricultural practices by the farmers. Population www.thecropsite.com

There are three seasons for growing rice in India viz. autumn, winter and summer. The main rice growing season in the country is kharif. It is known as winter rice as per the harvesting time. The sowing time of kharif rice is June – July and it is harvested in September - October. India is an important centre of rice cultivation. The rice is cultivated on the largest areas in India. Historians believe that while the indica variety of rice was first domesticated in the area covering the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas (i.e. North-Eastern India), stretching through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Southern China, while the japonica variety was domesticated from wild rice in Southern China which was introduced to India. Perennial wild rice still grows in Assam and Nepal.

Introduction

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most important commercial vegetable crop cultivated extensively in India and it belongs to the family Alliaceae. It is used both in green and mature stage for salad and spice in a variety of flavoured dishes and soups Onion is liked for its flavour and pungency which is due to the presence of a volatile oil ‘allyl propyl disulphide’- an organic compound rich in sulphur. Onion bulb is a rich source of minerals like phosphorus, calcium and carbohydrates. It also contains protein and vitamin C. It is being used in several ways as a fresh, frozen, dehydrated bulbs and green bunching types. Dehydrated onion is in great demand which reduces transport cost and storage losses. Onion has got good medicinal value. It contains several anti-cancer agents which have shown to prevent cancer in animals. The beneficial compound called ‘quercetin’ present in onion has shown to be powerful antioxidant. Extracts of onion are being used in the prevention of ‘atherosclerosis’ and ‘coronary heart disease’. onion extensive culinary, dietary, therapeutic, trading, income and employment generation value. Onion is commodity of mass consumption and is grown almost all over the country mainly by small and marginal farmers (Shukla and Singh-2018).

A global review of onion area and production revealed that onion is grown in the world in an area of 43.64 lakh hectares with a total production of 873.44 lakh tons and productivity of 21.79 tons/ha. China and India are leading onion growing countries with a total production of 247.00 and 159.40 lakh tons, respectively during the year 2017. India produces around 174 lakh tons of onion annually ranking second in the world. Currently in India the production of onion 31129 million tons with the cultivated of 1914 lakh hectares in 2021-22 observed respectively. Among the different onion growing states Maharashtra tops in area and production. (https://www.districts of india.com).

Introduction

Pulses are the most important part of our diet, richest and cheap source of proteins, vitamins, minerals and amino acids besides high nutritional value. Hence, the economic value of these crops is very high. Pulses can be produced with a minimum use of resources and are mostly cultivated under rainfed conditions and do not require intensive irrigation (Sood et al. 2018). Keeping in view large benefits of pulses for human health; the United Nations has proclaimed 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. Thus, due attention is required to enhance the production of pulses not only to meet the dietary requirement of proteins but also to raise the awareness about pulses for achieving nutritional, food security and environmental sustainability. The Government of India through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established a wide network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in all the rural districts of the country. These KVKs under the aegis of the National Agricultural Research and Education System are the real carriers of frontline technologies and impart knowledge and critical input support for the famers. The frontline demonstration programme (FLDs) in pulses is a unique programme by Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, conducted under close supervision of farm scientists. Main objective of FLDs in pulses is to demonstrate and popularize the improved agro-technology on farmers fields under varied farming situations for effective transfer of generated technology and f ill the gap between improved technology and adopted/indigenous technology to enhance pulse productivity and farms gains for sustaining the production systems especially under rainfed farming (Choudhary et al. 2009). The field demonstrations conducted under the close supervision of scientists of the National Agriculture Research System is called front-line demonstrations. The main objective of Frontline Demonstrations is to demonstrate newly released crop production and protection technologies and its management practices in the farmers’ field under different agro-climatic regions and farming situations.

Introduction

The agricultural sector in India has focussed more on agricultural output and food security. From the year 1965 to 2016, India’s food production was multiplied by 3.7 times while the population was multiplied by 2.55 times. More than one f ifth of rural households with self-employment in agriculture as their principal occupation were having income less than the poverty line (NSSO, 2011-12). In the early 1980s, the farm income per cultivator was 34 per cent of the income of non agricultural workers. In the year 1993-1994, the relative income of farmers was one-fourth of the income of the non-agricultural workers. According to SAS 2012 2013, the average annual income of farm households from the farm as well as non farm sources was Rs. 77,112 which is 60 per cent from farm activities and 40 per cent from non-farm activities. In April 2016, the Government constituted an Inter Ministerial Committee to examine issues relating to DFI and recommend strategies to achieve the same. The target was to change the farm to non-farm income ratio from the existing 60:40 in 2015-16 to 70:30 by 2022-23. A seven-point strategy was proposed and several initiatives were taken to increase the income of farmers. The last available estimates on the income of agricultural households are based on the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) during 77th round (January – December 2019). As per the survey results, the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources was estimated to be. Rs. 10218. Thus, the present study was taken to know the awareness, knowledge and perception of farmers towards doubling farmers income. Understanding the farmers awareness, knowledge and perception would help to develop specific strategies for increasing the farmers income.

Introduction

Agriculture is the main occupation in India which engages nearly 119 million of farmers and 144 million landless labourers (Census 2011). According to the Agriculture Census (2012), about 80 per cent of Indian farmers fall under the small and marginal category. The average size of land holding in India is 1.15 ha which will tend to decrease in coming years due to land fragmentation, industrialization and urbanization which are forcing farmers to quit farming and look for more viable livelihood options (Bhattacharyya et al. 2018). Specially small and marginal farmers are exposed to high risk of farming due to climate vagaries, uncertainties in production and market demand, lack of access to support services and markets, limited scope of farm mechanization and the consistent failure of half-hearted government efforts which have been unable to make farming an exciting profession to the old as well as new generations. In Indian context, agriculture has never been a profession for the literate section of the society due to lower production and profitability. NSSO report (2012-13), in alignment with the current scenario, says 40 per cent farmers want to quit agriculture if they get alternatives.

Owing to several biotic and abiotic stresses, the problem of agrarian distress in India has accentuated in recent years. Government of India has taken initiative in its annual budget of 2016-17 and initiate a number of steps to alleviate agrarian distress and improve the situation before the fight for food security faces disastrous challenge from mass migration of Indian farmers to other occupations. The steps taken by the Government of India are improving irrigation efficiency, providing crop insurance, improving market infrastructure and its efficiency, promoting organic farming, restoring soil health and so on.

Introduction

Owing to several biotic and abiotic stresses, the problem of agrarian distress in India has accentuated in recent years. The Indian government set a target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022–2023 in its annual budget for 2016–17 and started a number of initiatives to achieve this goal, including better irrigation efficiency, crop insurance, market infrastructure improvements, organic farming promotion, soil health restoration, and others. The pathway for doubling of farmers’ income encompasses several dimensions, from production to post-harvest management. These include: bridging yield gap, crop diversification, improvements in total factor productivity and proper management of irrigation (GoI, 2007, Evenson et al. 1999) alongwith the provisions of market and institutional support for efficient post-harvest management. With respect to Himachal Pradesh, in order to improve the productivity levels of existing crop enterprises and promote the diversification of cropping systems, various steps have been taken by the line departments which include the creation of water harvesting and irrigation infra-structure, skill up gradation of farmers, subsidy on critical inputs like seed, fertilizers, plant protection materials, market access through information technology and village road network, crop insurance schemes, etc. The impact of these interventions is reflected through the continuous increase in the productivity levels and inclination of farming community towards the adoption of new crop enterprises vegetables and fruit crops.