Kathmandu. Although most of the youths in the village have gone for foreign employment, Binod has not left the village. He has saved Rs 25 lakh annually by farming fish in nine bigha of land. Binod Chaudhary is an exemplary farmer from Ghodaghodi Municipality-5 of Kailali.

Chaudhary, who took a loan of Rs 5 million from the bank five years ago, has started earning Rs 25 lakhs annually from fish farming. Known as a fish entrepreneur, Binod is 27 years old. He started fish farming five years ago with limited investment. Initially, he had an investment, but now he is happy with the fishery business.

Most of his time is spent in the pond. Chaudhary, who was attracted to fish farming with the belief that he should earn income along with his studies, has started inspiring other youths in the village to become self-employed.

“If you move forward with the thought of doing something in your own place rather than going abroad, you will not fail,” said Binod. It was not easy for him to start a fish farming business. Millions of rupees had to be spent on the construction of ponds, dams, water supply and other physical infrastructures.

Chaudhary had initially invested Rs 25 lakh. Later, the investment gradually increased. It is not that there is no fear that the investment will not be raised, but Vinod has said that the fruits of patience will finally be sweet, as if his investment has been raised in five years. Vinod is now in profit.

According to him, in the initial phase of the business, it was difficult to run the family as the expenses were more than the income. He believes that low production, lack of experience in market management and need for continuous investment have increased the economic pressure.

“In the beginning, the investment was more than the earnings. It was also difficult to run a family. It takes patience to sustain a business. For two or three years, there was no profit,” he said.

In the initial years, fish worth Rs 500,000 was sold annually due to low production. With the increase in production in recent years, fish can be sold up to two times a year. With this, the annual income has also reached around Rs 25 lakh.

He believes that there is a possibility of getting better income if the demand for fresh fish is increasing in the market.

He said that additional expenses are incurred every year on dam collapse, water level control, pond cleaning and maintaining water quality during the rainy season. He has been commercially involved in fish farming in five big ponds. According to Chaudhary, there was a lack of technical knowledge while starting the business. He said that the training, technical consultations and learning from experienced farmers from various government and non-government bodies have helped to make the business systematic.

According to him, patience, perseverance and proper management are the most important in the fisheries business. He said that many people expect good income in a short time after starting a business, but in the first few years, the investment in this sector is high and only then will the returns start coming.

His family members are also actively supporting him in his business. The family members help in feed management, pond care, fish sales and other daily chores. He says that the support of his family and continuous hard work has helped him expand his business.

He said plans are afoot to further increase production capacity, use modern technology and further strengthen commercial fisheries by expanding ponds in the coming days.

The fishery business started by taking a risk has not only made Chaudhary self-reliant but has also given a message that he can earn respectable income through modern agricultural enterprises by staying in the village. His journey has become an inspiring example for the youths who consider foreign employment as the only means of success.