Farmers in the district cultivated fish on 600 acres of land along with paddy this year, sources said.
Seeing the financial benefit, other farmers also came forward and followed the same technique of fish farming along with paddy.
Ayesha Begum and Mofasser Ali of Belgachha West Kalyan village released four and a half kilograms of fries on one bigha of aman paddy land two months ago.
They so far sold fish valued at Tk 4,000 before harvesting of the paddy. They expect to sell fish worth Tk 5,000 more during the harvesting time.
Farm manager of district fisheries department Reaz Uddin said it is easy and profitable to cultivate fish along with paddy as rain water is available during the aman season.
Two NGOs -- RDRS Bangladesh and KDS -- imparted necessary training and assistance to the farmers in different areas of the district for fish farming along with the paddy.
If the fish farming in fields along with paddy spreads all over the country, demand for rice along with protein will be fulfilled to a great extent. This will benefit the farmers as well as country's economy, officials said.
Fish farming in Paddy Fields Takes Off
INDIA - Fish cultivation along with paddy in paddy fields is gaining popularity as it brings financial benefit to the farmers of the Kurigram district of Bangladesh.
