PANAJI
Goa is looking to expand mud crab farming as an additional source of income for coastal families, drawing on Andhra Pradesh’s experience where farmers earn nearly Rs 68,000 per acre per crop.
The ICAR–Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI), Old Goa, is developing a farming model suited to Goa’s coastal conditions following a study of commercial crab farms in Andhra Pradesh. Information accessed by The Goan revealed that the institute studied a commercial mud crab farming cluster in Koduru Mandal, Krishna district, to identify techniques that could be adapted to Goa’s coastal conditions. A farm budget at the Koduru cluster showed an operating cost of Rs 1.02 lakh and gross revenue of Rs 1.70 lakh per acre per crop from a harvest of 160 kg, yielding net returns of Rs 67,960 and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.67. Market prices ranged from Rs 400 per kg for smaller crabs to Rs 1,700 per kg for crabs weighing over 750 grams. The initiative for Goa follows the State government’s Financial Assistance Scheme for Setting up Mud Crab Culture Units to promote scientific mud crab farming. It also coincides with a recent appeal by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urging residents, particularly traditional crab harvesters, to avoid catching and consuming berried (egg-carrying) female crabs to safeguard wild populations and ensure long-term fishery sustainability.
To translate these policy goals and conservation efforts into practice, CCARI plans to develop a package suited to Goa’s khazan lands, estuarine banks and mangrove fringes. “Demonstration units will be established at the institute’s Ela farm and on farmers’ fields, while beneficiaries of the State scheme, particularly women’s self-help groups, fisher families and rural youth, will receive hands-on training,” the report said.
The institute also plans to organise farmer clusters for collective seed procurement and marketing, and connect producers with hotels, restaurants and the tourism sector. The initiative, officials said, is aimed at putting underused coastal land to productive use, creating rural employment, and reducing dependence on crabs supplied by other States.
In a related exposure visit, CCARI, in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), conducted a four-day training and awareness programme on climate-resilient fish farming and financial literacy in Andhra Pradesh under an Asian Development Bank-funded project.
The programme covered climate-smart aquaculture, disease prevention, farm management, insurance and financial services. Field visits involving farmers engaged in Pangasius, seabass, shrimp and crab farming highlighted challenges such as poor-quality seed, high temperatures, water deterioration, feed costs and marketing constraints.
A total of 146 farmers, including 27 women, participated. The findings will inform future training and technical interventions aimed at strengthening climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods among smallholder fish farmers.
