Fish farmers eye govt help for business survival

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Fish farms owners in southeastern Khost province have said their farming business was on the brink of collapse due to government negligence and lack of professional workers.

They said currently a large amount of fish was imported from Pakistan which is not like locally produced fish. Their meat is not tasty and are not fresh as well.

Haji Gul, the resident of Khost City’s Tindi locality, said he had formed the fish farm from the past one year. He said fish farming produced good result in Khost but due to the lack of facilities and professional workers they faced challenges in their business.

He said: “We don’t know the diseases, we have food and want the government to hire a doctor to explore the diseases, we also net help how fish are catch in the net.” Another farm owner Noorullah said currently most of fishes come to Afghanistan from Pakistan the quality of which cannot be relied on. “Fish in our farms are fresh, its meat is delicious, I have made one fish farm, if the government supports me we want to make more farms.”

Khair Gul, another fish farmer, said more than half of farms are closed in the province due to the lack of government attention.

He asked the provincial Agriculture Department and other institutions to increase their support for fish farming. “Khost farm fish are very fresh and when people taste them once they will not eat other fish.” Dr.Roshan, deputy head of the livestock section at the provincial Agriculture Department, said total 35 fish farms were registered with them out of which 15 were closed.

He said 15 fish farms are closed due the shortage of water and lack of professional workers. “DAA organization this year pledged to provide food and fish farming training to fish farmers,” he said. Fish farms that have more water did good business but others which have water shortage are struggling.

He said according to the required standard fishes should be kept in at least two metres water. In less than two metres water their fishes could not properly lived.