ICAR-CIBA Partners with ‘Coastal Corporation Ltd’ under the “Make In India†programme for production of shrimp larval feed: India’s first indigenous feed for shrimp larvae.
ICAR-CIBA formed a strategic alliance with M/s. Coastal Corporation Ltd, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh for production of indigenous shrimp larval feed. Quality larval feeds are the central element for successful hatchery operations. At present the larval feeds used in India wholly imported and expensive. In this context a cost-effective indigenous larval feeds for shrimp is the need of the hour for sustainable aquaculture.
Focused research efforts at CIBA over the last five years resulted in development of CIBA Shrimp Larvi Plus. This feed has been tested and demonstrated for its effectiveness in various shrimp hatcheries in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
To promote the shrimp larval feed production in line with the make in India programme of Government of India, ICAR-CIBA signed a MoU for the manufacture of indigenous shrimp larval feed on 6 May 2022 in the presence of Dr J.K. Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries), ICAR, New Delhi. Jena during his address appreciated the scientists and highlighted the necessity for promoting indigenous larval feed.
According to Dr K.P. Jithendran, Director, CIBA this effort will undoubtedly improve the economic benefits, contribute to innovation and growth and encourage sustainability and competitiveness in the aquafeed sector in the longer run. He also expressed his wish that it should be a long-lasting and beneficial journey to share both sides’ experiences. Mr. V.R. Sharma, Vice President, Coastal Corporation Ltd. narrated his three decades of hatchery and farming experience and shared the encouraging trial results obtained with CIBA shrimp Larvi Plus and his intention to take this technology not only in India but also at global level.
Dr K. Ambasankar, Principal Scientist and team leader for the feed technology, briefed the significance of this MoU and outlined the genesis of this initiative. He stressed that this technology would benefit the aquaculture sector in long run. On the current situation with shrimp larvae feeds in India, Ambasankar, said, “There are umpteen number of larval feeds available in the market. However, the quality varies from brand to brand. The cost also varies from INR1000/k to as much as INR3,000/kg (USD12.9 -USD38.8/kg). This high cost of the larval feed is coupled with the difficulties in procuring from abroad particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Then, there is the additional import duty. Therefore, there is a requirement of indigenous larval feed. Our main objective is to provide a quality and cost-effective feed with certain availability to the reach of the hatcheries situated all over India.â€
He told AAP that the R & D trial has been completed. Testing in the commercial hatcheries in India gave encouraging results. “The results showed that this feed is on par with the best feed available in the market. The test feed has been prepared in our pilot scale feed mill and tested. Based on these results, test results Coastal Corporation Ltd will commercialise the technology and the feed is expected to be in commercially available by 2023. However, if anyone is interested to get the sample tested internationally, we can provide the feed sample.
