Economic Feasibility of Fish Farming in Punjab

The present study was undertaken in Ludhiana district of Punjab and a sample of 60 fish farmers was selected by using random sampling technique. The study revealed that on private fish farms, total variable cost per hectare was maximum on medium fish farms (2, 07, 554) followed by small (2, 00, 752) and large (1, 83, 844) farms. However, on panchayati fish farms, total variable cost per hectare was maximum on small fish farms (1, 81, 418) followed by medium (1, 68, 448) and large (1, 63, 317) farms. In overall, total variable cost per hectare was2, 01, 970 on private and1, 74, 461 on panchayati fish farms. On contrary, fixed cost increased with farm size on private and panchayati fish farms. Gross returns per hectare on private fish farms were higher (3, 15, 417) than panchayati fish farms (2, 80, 058). Net returns per hectare were higher on panchayati fish farms (85, 244) as compared to private fish farms (47, 936). In overall, the regression coefficients of area, marketing cost and labour were significant. The coefficient of multiple determination (R²) was higher in large fish farms as 0.96 followed by medium 0.87 and small 0.77.