School of Livelihood and Rural Development
Fisheries and Aquaculture
Training & Skill Development · NEER Mission
Fisheries and Aquaculture — from water to market
Under the NEER mission (the North East Enterprise and Resource Network), SLRD runs training and skill development that turns fishers and aquaculture farmers into food-safe, market-ready enterprises. The mission is led by the Global Association of MSMEs and supported by SLRD and Living Roots Network Private Limited. The North East imports a large share of the fish it eats, and imported fish has repeatedly failed on formalin and heavy metals — the opportunity is a documented quality record and an organised local supply.
Demand-led market access
The buyer-first sequence, readiness clinics and Sangam finale applied to fish. Mid-day meals, defence catering and institutional kitchens are channels local producers do not yet supply.
Training and skill programmes
Half day to fifteen day certified programmes, delivered in-cluster and in the local language through empanelled local professionals and partner institutions.
Quality and compliance
A four-rung ladder from farm-management audit to third-party certification, with lab testing and traceability — freshness, formalin-free and heavy-metal-free, the record that opens institutional buyers.
Enterprise formation
Fingerling banks, ice and cold chain, live haul, local feed, drying and smoking, cages and ornamentals — the enterprise lines that hold quality steady and add value.
The regional programme
NEER, from water to market
Fisheries and Aquaculture is the sector SLRD works in. NEER, the North East Enterprise and Resource Network for fisheries, is the programme delivering the work across the eight North East states. NEER is a Global Association of MSMEs initiative, supported by SLRD and Living Roots Network Private Limited. The Global Association of MSMEs holds the buyer side, SLRD mobilises producers and runs the clinics on the ground, and Living Roots Network carries the technical content on species, systems, seed, feed, water quality and cold chain.
- 8North East states
- 0.42 mn tannual regional deficit
- 18 kgeaten a person a year, against 8 to 9 kg nationally
- 24 weeksone full delivery cycle
The region eats more fish a person than any other part of India and produces far less than it needs. The shortfall arrives by truck over two thousand kilometres, and market samples in Meghalaya in 2023 returned formalin in 30 of 42 lots. Fresh local fish with a test report attached answers a problem no imported consignment answers.
How the programme runs
- Step 1
The platform
Buyers post structured requirements, species, volume, grade and delivery window. The demand is stated before a farmer stocks a pond, so a production plan answers a real order.
- Step 2
The clinics
One working clinic a cluster district. Each enterprise leaves with a readiness score, a dated gap closure plan and a first farm audit with a water and fish health record.
- Step 3
The Sangam
Ready enterprises meet processors, retail and hotel chains, institutional buyers and ornamental exporters in one place, and the meetings close into letters of intent and supply agreements.
The 24 week cycle
- Week 1 to 4 Demand capture, buyer requirements posted, district demand map published
- Week 5 to 10 Enterprise mapping, platform registration and NFDP enrolment
- Week 11 to 15 NEER clinics, readiness scoring, gap plans, skill programmes
- Week 16 NEER Sangam, matched buyer meetings and letters of intent
- Week 17 to 24 Follow through, first consignment support, contract and finance facilitation
Where NEER runs
- Phase 1, running Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Field work is under way on the Jirang cluster in Ri Bhoi and on the two district programme in Kamrup Rural and Goalpara.
- Phase 2, planned Nagaland and Tripura.
- Phase 3, planned Mizoram and Manipur.
NEER asks for no new fund. PMMSY, PM-MKSSY, FIDF, MSE-CDP, NFDB and the state annual action plans already carry the money, at a 90:10 central share for North East states and up to 60 percent beneficiary subsidy. What the sector lacks is the demand signal telling that money where to go. A pond funded without a buyer depresses the local price at harvest. The same pond funded against a posted requirement produces a contract.
What we train on
Ten training tracks, pond to market
SLRD stays with the community through the complete intervention, pond to market. Where a link is missing, seed, feed, ice, credit, a record or a buyer, SLRD brings in a partner and closes the gap, so a farmer carries no loss for something sitting outside the farm. The Global Association of MSMEs organises the demand side, Living Roots Network supplies fisheries technology and services, Vistaar Agrotech supplies cold chain equipment and YesEarth runs the digital record chain.
SLRD also builds FFPOs and farmer groups into sustainable MSME business units, registered, run on books and ready for credit. A unit built this way grows, reaches finance on its own strength and returns a larger share of the final price to the fish farmer.
Each track pairs technical skill with the enterprise skill behind it, costing, negotiation and compliance. Every module runs in three durations, a half day awareness session, a three day short term programme and a fifteen day long term programme, delivered at the cluster and in the local language. Sustainability and eco conservation run through all ten, from responsible water and soil use to waste reduction and low emission practice.
-
01
Smart Farming Management and Innovative Culture Methods
Pond, tank, cage, pen, biofloc and recirculating systems, chosen for the water a farmer already holds. Stocking density, growth sampling, daily production records, aeration and low cost monitoring, so decisions rest on numbers instead of guesswork.
-
02
Breeding and Quality Seed Management
Brood stock care, induced breeding, hatchery operation and nursery rearing to stockable size. Species selection, seed quality checks and cluster fingerling banks, so a farmer stops paying for weak seed hauled in from outside the region.
-
03
Sustainable Feed Management and Precision Nutrition
Feed carries the largest share of production cost. Nutrient requirement by species and stage, formulation from local ingredients, on farm and cluster feed production, feeding rate, feed conversion tracking and control of nutrient loss to the water.
-
04
Water Quality, Soil and Health Management
Pond soil preparation, liming, fertilisation and plankton management, with daily reading of dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia and temperature. Biosecurity, early disease diagnosis, responsible input use and reporting through the national aquatic disease network.
-
05
Post Harvest Management, Processing and Value Addition
Harvest planning, purging, pond side icing, grading and dressing. Drying, smoking, fermented products, fish based ready to cook lines, packaging, shelf life and the hygiene standard an institutional kitchen asks for.
-
06
Cold Chain Process and Live Fish Transport
Ice supply, insulated boxes, chilled and frozen storage, and two way live haul between cluster and market. Loading density, oxygen packing, water exchange, transit temperature and survival records on arrival.
-
07
Total Farm Management, QMS and Traceability
Farm records, standard operating procedures and internal audit, worked up the four rung compliance ladder, farm management audit, GAP audit, statutory compliance and third party certification. Batch coding, lot traceability, recall drills and the lab testing calendar behind a formalin free, heavy metal free claim.
-
08
Farm Gate Cost, Cost Management and Market Linkage
Cost of production a kilogram, break even, margin at the farm gate and the input lines driving cost. Price negotiation, buyer contracts, aggregation and grading for a better rate, with FFPO governance and the books an institutional buyer asks to see.
-
09
Credit, Insurance and Scheme Access
Training and awareness on the Kisan Credit Card for fish farmers, aquaculture insurance, working capital and term loan routes, and bank ready project reports. Registration on the National Fisheries Digital Platform and the application route into PMMSY, PM-MKSSY, NFDB and state schemes.
-
10
YesEarth NEER, the Digital Record Chain
The group’s own digital system, running pond to value addition to market. Stocking, feeding, water quality and health records at the pond, then processing batches, cold chain movement and buyer despatch, held as one traceable record a batch for certification, recall and scheme reporting.
Delivery partner
Living Roots Network Private Limited
A company with expertise in fisheries and aquaculture, Living Roots Network co-anchors the NEER mission with SLRD — bringing technical depth in hatcheries, feed, water quality, cold chain and market linkage, while SLRD mobilises communities, FPOs and field delivery and the Global Association of MSMEs organises the demand side.
livingrootsnetwork.com →Delivered Completed work
- A fisheries development training programme in Ri Bhoi in 2025, giving 300 trainees exposure to improved practices and value addition.
Under way Work in progress
- The Jirang cluster: 993 farmers across 135 hectares of ponds, with a fingerling bank, solar supported feed mill, live fish holding, cold chain and market connect.
- The two district Assam programme covering Kamrup Rural and Goalpara, 2,100 farmers targeted across 1,000 hectares of ponds and 287 hectares of beels, with 6 FFPOs.