The annual output from fisheries has reached up to 5,000 kilogrammes. This is expected to cross 10,000 kilogrammes in the next two years. DESIGN : SAMRA AAMIR
For the past decade the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have been under the limelight as operations continue against militants. At the same time, development projects, like the establishment of fisheries, remained in the background even as they provided much-needed jobs.
Like the poultry business which is taking off in Fata, fish farming is also steadily developing as is the interest of local farmers in this enterprise. Previously, the main source of seafood was Karachi. Due to the long commute, the perishable products would often not be as fresh.
The Fata Secretariat Fisheries Department initiated the development of fisheries in Fata and the Frontier Regions (FR). At least 14 hatcheries have been constituted in various dams to breed fish and help meet local demand.
The department is also constructing fish farms (where fish are raise for commercial purposes in water tanks) which will be handed over to the local owners of the land where the farms have been developed. So far, the Fata Secretariat Fisheries Department has created 170 farms and has trained more than 2,000 people in the required skills of the business.
In 2001-2002, the department budgeted Rs1.3 million and Rs5.77 million for 2005-2006 for the development of fisheries and farms. There was no budget allocated to the project between 2002 and 2005, and 2006 and 2007, according to the Fata Secretariat Fisheries Department. Under the sustainable development plan for 2007-2015, the government is spending Rs685 million on such ventures.
The annual output from fisheries has reached up to 5,000 kilogrammes. This is expected to cross 10,000 kilogrammes in the next two years.
In Gul Rehman, a village in Jamrud, Khyber Agency where fish farms have been constructed, locals have started reeling in the benefits.
Malik Shoaib, from Jamrud, was happy that the farms not only gave locals an opportunity to get fresh fish for dinner, but have brought more opportunities for employment in their area.
The government needs to invest more in developing fish farms and, Shoaib emphasised, in digging tube wells so a larger number of people can profit.
Another resident of Jamrud, Sarmad Khan also appreciated the initiative. He believed it was such entrepreneurship which would help develop the area. When locals generate enough money to help change their economic status and eradicate poverty, the tribal areas will progress, said Sarmad.
“Our economic status has changed within a year; something we were not expecting, thanks to the government,” said Pazeer Khan of Khyber Agency.
He recommended the programme needs to be expanded to more areas where there was a ready source of water. Fata Fisheries Department Director Muhammad Diyar Khan said the main purpose of the programme is to turn barren lands into a profitable business. Another aim is to engage tribesmen and provide them with job opportunities at their doorstep.
According to Muhammad Diyar, many people have submitted applications asking the department to establish fish farms on their land. But there are limitations – a scarcity of funds makes the department very picky about the location.
The fish farms are government funded and farms owners receive a year’s training before they are handed over the reins.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2013.
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