Prospects And Challenges Of Fish Farming Business In Manipur: A Study In Wangoi Assembly Constituency, Imphal West District, Manipur (India)

Abstract

The fishery sector occupies a significant place in the country's socio-economic development. Fisheries, ranking second only to agriculture, play a crucial role in offering employment opportunities and contributing to the food supply. Manipur, situated in the North Eastern Region of India, encompasses a land area of 22,327 square kilometres which constitutes 0.7% of the total land surface of India. According to the final 2011 census data, the population of the state is 28.56 lakh, giving a population density of 128 people per square kilometre. Although the state has no marine fisheries, it does have extensive inland fisheries resources such as ponds, tanks, natural lakes, wetlands, rivers, reservoirs, submerged agricultural lands, shallow paddy fields, etc. Loktak Lake is the largest source of fish in Manipur. Fish production in Manipur was 32.52 thousand tonnes in the year 2019-2020.

This study aims to analyse the overview of the fish market in Manipur, understand the different modes of fish production and study the present status of fish farming, particularly in Wangoi assembly constituency. By doing so, it seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the feasibility and potential pathways for establishing a successful fish farming business in the region.

This paper centres on examining the role of the fish farming business as a small-scale agribusiness under the pisciculture/aquaculture sub-sector in improving livelihoods in the Wangoi region of Imphal West District, Manipur, India. It documents the challenges, prospects and potentials of the fish farming business of the local people in the area.