Knowledge of fish farmers on using artificial feed for catfish culture

Abstract

Bangladesh's numerous inland lakes and river systems make capture fisheries and aquaculture here very promising. Bangladesh is producing more catfish since they are exceptionally resilient and can tolerate harsh weather conditions and unstable habitats. The aims of the research were to assess fish farmers' knowledge of using artificial feed for catfish culture and to identify the variables affecting their knowledge level. Thus, the research was conducted in three villages of Gauripur upazila (sub-district) of Mymensingh district. In-person interviews were conducted with 80 randomly chosen catfish farmers. According to the findings, the vast majority of respondents (63%) had medium-level and 32% had high and 5% of farmers found which have a low level of knowledge on using artificial feed for catfish culture. Formal education, fish farming experience, farm size, annual income, social mobility, communication exposure and training received were positively and significantly correlated with the knowledge of the respondents. Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that formal education, communication exposure, and training received significantly influenced fish farmers’ knowledge. High cost of fish feed, inaccessibility of good quality fish feed and lack of proper training were identified as the major problems faced by the fish farmers. In connection to these difficulties, development agencies such as Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, relevant non-government and private organizations should take appropriate action like regular need based training, method demonstration, result demonstration, field day, other extension activities to increase the fish farmers’ knowledge on using artificial feed for catfish culture.