{"id":20072422,"date":"2021-05-13T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=72422"},"modified":"2021-05-13T15:12:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T09:42:14","slug":"sustainable-practices-critical-as-pakistan-farmers-switch-to-trout-farms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/food\/sustainable-practices-critical-as-pakistan-farmers-switch-to-trout-farms\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable practices critical as Pakistan farmers switch to fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Qasim Shah, a farmer in Pakistan\u2019s northern mountain province of Gilgit-Baltistan, has no regrets about giving up crop farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrout farming is more lucrative than traditional crops. Crops and fruit have become too climate-sensitive and come with the risk of losing investment,\u201d said Shah, who is also the vice president of the Private Fish Farms Association in Ghizer district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Trout farms are cropping up in Gilgit-Baltistan, where rapidly warming glaciers form cold water reservoirs \u2013 a key breeding ground for trout. Nearly 200 fish farms have been set up across the province in less than 10 years, with new farms appearing every month. Fish farms are also burgeoning in the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa<\/a>, where the government hopes to create jobs<\/a>. At each of these farms, up to 20,000 trout are bred to be sold as food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

200<\/p>

The number of fish farms in Gilgit-Baltistan today, up from 16 in 2012, according to the fisheries department\u2019s deputy director Ikramullah.<\/p>

The department is targeting 500 farms in the next five years.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As climate change threatens food security,<\/a> traditional crop farmers in Gilgit-Baltistan are opting for trout, which they say is a more sustainable source of income. Across South Asia<\/a>, farmers are adapting to dwindling outputs and uncertain incomes \u2013 with some, like Shah, looking beyond crop cultivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI earned 500,000 Pakistani rupees [USD 3,285] in profit at the end of the last season despite the coronavirus pandemic. This season, my target is much higher,\u201d he added. Shah started fish farming in 2018 with an investment of over Rs 1 million. He set up a small hotel near the farm to serve fried trout to tourists and locals. If the government provides transport and packaging facilities, he said, he expects to export the fish to China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy village land is highly fertile for crops and fruit but erratic rains and other climatic implications like frequent pest attacks have spoiled the produce over the years,\u201d said Shah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trout in northern Pakistan<\/span>

There are three species of trout in Pakistan: snow trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. They now rarely seen in the wild outside hatcheries. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the snow trout is indigenous to the region and the other two species were introduced by the British in the Chitral and Kaghan valleys in the 1920s.<\/p>

\u00a0A study in 2007 said there are 45 lakes in Pakistan\u2019s northern areas, of which 12 were stocked with trout as of 2007<\/a> \u2013 mostly snow trout. Two species of exotic trout \u2013 the brown and\u00a0 rainbow\u00a0 trout \u2013 had established\u00a0 themselves\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 area. The brown\u00a0 trout\u00a0 is not recommended for commercial farming\u00a0 owing to its slow\u00a0 growth\u00a0 compared\u00a0 to\u00a0 the rainbow. The rainbow\u00a0 trout\u00a0 can\u00a0 tolerate\u00a0 high\u00a0 water\u00a0 temperature, is less carnivorous and grows faster.\u00a0<\/p>

Until the 1990s, trout fishing was a major source of livelihood for local communities. However, pollution and construction along rivers has led to a sharp decline in trout<\/a>. According to the Gilgit-Baltistan fisheries department, the total annual production of fish is 465 tonnes.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The government supports trout breeding and private fish farms. In April, the federal government earmarked Rs 112 million (USD 730,000) to promote fish farms in mountain provinces. The Ministry of National Food Security & Research<\/a> said the aim was to develop shrimp and fish farms in Pakistan that will create jobs, enhance food insecurity and increase export earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n