Aquaculture in homestead agroforestry-A sustainable means for doubling farmers ’income in foothills of Indian Eastern Himalaya

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, released in 2015, indicates that out of 24.39 crore households in the country, 17.91 crore lived in villages and are more or less dependent on agriculture and its allied sectors. Hence, multifunctional and sustainable land-use systems like homestead agroforestry/farming among small land-holders to intensify and to improve livelihood has been the growing attraction for scientists and policy makers. The present study recorded the status of fish ponds and their contribution in livelihood economy among homestead farming gardens of Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. A total of 150 homestead agroforestry gardens were surveyed and only 44 of them were found with ponds for fish production. The feeding materials like rice husk, mustard cake and cow dung were fed by the pond owners for fish production for all types of species. Almost half of the pond's owners (50.6%) use the fish production purely for economic purpose. A total of 23 species of fish, belonging to 10 families were reared in these homestead ponds. The highest number of species (14) belonged to Cyprinidae family with 11 genera. The total quantity of the fish produced in one season was 8, 980 kg. The Rohu (Labeo rohita) was found to be the highest producing species with total production of 1, 540 kg/season. On an average, the total monetary value of all the 44 home-gardens in one season by fish selling (directly to consumer not involving market) was Rs. 14, 73, 785 with a mean value of Rs. 33, 495 for a single pond in a season. The availability of quality fingerlings source, water and marketing channels and intervention from the government authorities in the region may be helpful towards fulfilling the dream of doubling the farmers ’income by 2022.