Madhusudan Yadav, 48, of Farsaith, Rajbiraj Municipality-11, Saptari, who lost his job during the lockdown, is now self-employed through fish farming.
What you should know
Thousands of people lost their jobs as businesses and educational institutions shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some even sold their homes and properties cheaply, leaving no other option.
Some are still suffering financially due to the long-term lockdown to control the infection. Madhusudan Yadav, 48, of Farsaith, Rajbiraj Municipality-11, Saptari, who lost his job during the lockdown, has now changed his identity.
Before the corona infection, he was working as a DI (Discipline In-Charge) at Paradise Campus Rajbiraj. During the corona period, he lost his job for 12 years. He was unemployed for some time and stayed at home. At that time, his children were living in Kathmandu. He also reached Kathmandu to stay with his children during the lockdown. ‘At that time, the epidemic was all over the place,’ he said, ‘There was panic on one side, on the other hand, we were also financially devastated, I thought that if we wanted to survive, we would have to start our own business.’
He started looking for ‘ideas’ to choose a business by watching YouTube. At the same time, he saw former Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Lokendra Bista engaged in agricultural work. He also looked into lemon farming. He also came to see the lemon farming being done by former principal Bhagwat Prasad Yadav in the district.
He was still looking for ‘ideas’ to do a better business. At that time, he went to consult Jageshwar Yadav, the then head of the Fisheries Development Center, Fatehpur. He got advice from Jageshwar that fish consumption was increasing more than other businesses and that the income was also higher.
Since the risk was very low, he decided to do fish farming. However, Madhusudan did not have that much money. He started looking for money. With the help of former MP Suryanath Prasad Yadav and Prof. Dr. Shiv Narayan Yadav, he easily got a loan of Rs 1 million from Citizen Bank, but that amount was not enough to start the business.
Since he was not getting enough money to start the business, he thought of doing fish farming in collaboration with someone. While searching, he reached Sakhuwa Tole, Shambhunath Municipality-4, in the district. Bharat Yadav was already running a fish farming farm there. He also invested that money in the same farm and collaborated for fish farming.
Even though he worked there for two years, he was not satisfied. Having got basic information about fish farming, he started looking for a place to do fish farming on a larger scale. Even though he got a large area in that place, the problem of lack of money was becoming a challenge for him.
He told that plan to his brother-in-law Rajesh Yadav, 36, of Deuri Bharuwa, Rajbiraj Municipality-15, who had just completed his MBA. When Rajesh also expressed his desire, Madhusudan started raising money. Rajesh also added Rs 2 million from Nabil Bank, relatives and acquaintances. Together, they initially collected around Rs 6 million and leased 20 bighas of land. Although there were already small ponds on the land, they were not as per the standards required for fish farming.
On the land leased at an annual rate of Rs 96,000 per bigha, both of them made the ponds as per the standards. They established Arya & Arv Fisheries and Multipurpose Agriculture Farm in 2079 BS. They started fish farming in 20 ponds, including 8 nurseries (ponds for keeping brown fish) prepared on the land. I brought carp (bighead, grass, silver, common, rehu, naini, bhakur) fish fry from the Fisheries Development Center and put them in the nursery.
Now, since they are busy with vegetable cultivation in the pond, feeding the fish, cleaning the pond, adding water, and maintaining the pond, they have hired 8 people, both men and women, from the same village as workers. They are made to work in two shifts and are being paid up to 15,000 rupees per month.
Five deep borings have been installed in the pond to add water, and an aerator has also been installed to make the environment suitable for the fish. ‘After transferring the fish from the nursery to the pond, about two kilos of fish are ready in a year,’ he said. ‘Even after selling the fish taken out in the first lot, we have earned Rs 60-62 lakh after deducting all expenses, but we have not been able to add fry yet due to the large pond.’
He said that he is currently investing in fry. This season, he estimates that he will earn 40 percent of his income by selling one thousand quintals of fish and fish worth Rs 22 million at an average rate of Rs 220. However, he complained that unhealthy fish imported from India are affecting the market price. ‘There is no problem with marketing, but Indian fish affects the price,’ he said.
He expressed his regret that the government has also failed to identify real farmers. ‘If the government can look after real farmers like him, it will help Madhesh and the country become self-reliant in fish, but no one cares,’ he said.
Madhusudan has been an active Maoist activist since 2058 BS. At that time, he was also the president of the student organization for three terms at Mahendra Bindeshwari Bahumakhi Campus, Rajbiraj. He studied for a master's degree in sociology and LLB.
He is currently the central treasurer of the Akhil Krantikari Fish Traders Association, who is seen in a leading role in the movement for rights. Madhusudan said that he is working hard to build his future without expecting the party and leaders to think about his affairs. Now, the capital of their farm has reached Rs 13 million.
