Jute retting at Balagarh

Jute is a cash crop in the Balagarh region, but the retting of jute is becoming a problem due to the non-availability of the required area of water bodies. Besides, engagement of available water bodies for retting also hampers the fish culture in this region as retting pollutes the water making it unfavorable for fish culture. Hence, as a sub-activity of the Integrated Farming System (IFS) model developed at the project site of Dumurdaha-Takipara FCS, improvised jute retting has been integrated to make an alternate viable solution to this problem mitigating the conflict between jute retting and pisciculture. Besides using the improvised jute retting technology developed by ICAR-Central Research Institute of Jute and Allied Fibres (CRIJAF), the farmers are realizing the higher market price of the produce than from conventional retting due to the increased quality of the fibre. At present, the activity is being carried out by the community under the guidance of the experts from ICAR-CRIJAF and Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS). #WBADMIP #freshwaterpisciculture #Balagarh #integratedfarming #juteretting #communityconservation #Hooghly #fishingcommunity #culturefishery #conservation