Rise in shrimp feed prices leaves aqua farmers in deep waters in Andhra Pradesh
It is 4.30 a.m. and long before the dawn broke, John Raju, an aqua farmer from a village near Palacole in the West Godavari district
It is 4.30 a.m. and long before the dawn broke, John Raju, an aqua farmer from a village near Palacole in the West Godavari district, wakes up to an alarm buzz and peeps out anxiously from his bedroom window into his backyard. He then heads out hurriedly towards his shrimp pond and walks along its embankment, with aerator machines making a constant whirring sound. They have been running through the night. He then pauses at a stilt and glances across the pond, spread across a sprawling 10 acres. In the pond, he sees tens of thousands of shrimps, reminding him of the months of hard work and investments of lakhs of rupees to fetch profits from the business. Although there are hopes, fear lingers with the rising feed price, which has become a stiff challenge not only to John Raju but also to thousands of farmers across the State’s aquaculture belt in districts of Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore. According to farmers, feed manufacturers have recently increased the price of Vannamei shrimp feed by ₹10 per kg and Black Tiger shrimp feed by ₹12 per kg. As a result, the price of a 25-kg bag of tiger shrimp feed has gone up by ₹300 and vannamei feed by ₹250. “There was a time when I worried only about the produce falling prey to diseases. But today I worry about the aqua feed,” he says anxiously. What was once considered one of rural India’s greatest success stories has been turning tables for farmers by heaping stress, uncertainty and shrinking margins. Stakes are high The stakes extend far beyond individual farmers. Aquaculture has been one of the most significant drivers of the State’s rural economy, supporting lakhs of livelihoods directly and indirectly. The sheer scale of operations underscores why rising feed prices have emerged as a matter of statewide concern. According to the government, aquaculture is currently being practised across nearly 2.35 lakh hectares in Andhra Pradesh. Fish farming occupies about 1.22 lakh hectares, while another 1.13 lakh hectares are under brackish water aquaculture. Commercially valuable species such as shrimp and sea bass are cultivated over nearly 1.2 lakh hectares, with the fortunes of a vast network of farmers, labourers, hatcheries, feed dealers, processors and exporters tied to the sector. For many farmers, the concern is no longer about the profitability of a single crop but about the sustainability of an industry that has become a cornerstone of Andhra Pradesh’s coastal economy. Farmers invest substantial sums in pond preparation, seed stocking, aeration systems, labour, electricity, water management and disease prevention. Among all these expenditures, however, feed prices take a lion’s share.
The BriefWire