Binita Jaiswal By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Fish farmers can soon prepare their own farm feed under an expert’s guidance as Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University (TNJFU) has established an aqua feed extrusion mill at Muttukadu.

The feed manufacturing mill, that has come up at a cost of Rs 3.98 crore at the university’s directorate of incubation and vocational training in aquaculture (DIVA) located at Muttukadu, has been established to develop new cost-efficient feed technologies and formulations which will be disseminated to fish farmers for preparing their own on-farm feed at a lesser cost, compared to commercial feeds available in the market.

Vice-chancellor of the university, S Felix said fish farmers from across the State, can visit the plant with their raw materials and will be provided all necessary assistance to make their own fish feed. Felix said that the aim of the project is to help fish farmers in minimising the feed cost in fish farming and enhance their profitability. The mill will be inaugurated within a fortnight. The mill will also boost the research activities to develop cost-efficient feeds formulations for Tilapia and Pangasius fish varieties and special broodstock feeds for Carps, said the varsity official.

Floating feed production capacity of this feed mill is 100-150kg per hour and sinking feed production capacity is 400-500 kg per hour. The cost of new aquafeed extrusion mill building is Rs 50 lakh. The mill has been established under the project on the development of cost-efficient feeds, funded by NADP.

MoUs to be signed

The TNJFU will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with fisherfolk, farmers and new feed mill companies, to transfer the technologies.“The fish feed manufactured in our mill will be much cheaper than the products of private companies,” said Felix