Nourish Feeds and USGBC join hands to promote scientific pond management in the country's southwest fish belt
Agrilife24.conLA total of 535 fish farmers were trained in modern, science-based aqua-culture techniques during a five day training road show on "Best Practices for Pond Aquaculture and Feed Management," held from 6 to 10 September 2026 across Jashore, Narail and Satkhira districts. The programme, jointly organised by Nourish Feeds Limited and the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council (USGBC), was delivered through five sessions held at farmer clusters in Kalaroa (Satkhira), Narail Sadar, Manirampur and Jhikorgachha (Jashore).

Jashore, Narail and Satkhira together form one of the most fish-dependent regions in Bangladesh. Jashore and Narail have long been regarded as a single aquaculture hub, while Satkhira falls within the Khulna hub together accounting for a significant share of the country's pond-based and brackish-water fish and shrimp production. Satkhira is particularly known for shrimp and prawn farming, with Jashore, Khulna, Satkhira and Cox's Bazar collectively contributing a substantial portion of national shrimp output. Jashore is also home to a large concentration of the country's prawn hatcheries, reflecting the district's long-standing role in the aquaculture supply chain.

Livelihoods across the belt remain closely tied to agriculture and fish farming. Rice-prawn-fish cultivation is widely practised in the low-lying areas of Narail, while in Satkhira, rice fields are frequently converted into "ghers" for shrimp and prawn culture. Rising soil salinity, cyclones and tidal flooding continue to pose recurring challenges in the coastal parts of the belt, driving sustained demand from farming communities for better training, more reliable water-quality management and stronger technical support a gap that programmes such as this one aim to address.

Programme highlights
At the inaugural session, Nourish Feeds Limited's Senior Deputy General Manager (Sales and Service), Dr Muhammad Musa Kalimullah, presented the company's business profile, mission and vision. He described quality feed and technology-driven management as central to raising productivity in the country's fisheries sector, and reaffirmed Nourish's commitment to standing beside farmers in pursuit of sustainable, profitable fish culture.

S. M. A. Haque, GM (Sales and Marketing) at Nourish Feeds Limited, echoed this message, noting that in today's competitive market, there is no substitute for the use of modern knowledge and technology in achieving sustainable and profitable fish production.

The training itself was conducted by Aung Tun Aye, an international aquaculture consultant with more than 25 years of industry experience in aquatic animal nutrition and quality assurance. His consultancy work spans precision nutrition, feed formulation, feed-conversion efficiency, aquatic animal health, water-quality management and biosecurity, and has been credited with helping aquaculture companies improve growth performance, reduce feed costs and strengthen technical capacity.

As chief trainer, Aung Tun Aye told participants that quality fry, balanced feed, good water quality and effective farm management were all essential to a sustainable and profitable fish farm and that weakness in any single one of these areas could undermine both production and profit. He advised farmers to focus on biomass rather than fish count alone when stocking ponds, and to closely observe fish behaviour before, during and after feeding to reduce feed wastage.

Workshop sessions were conducted by AGM Md. Obaidul Islam of Nourish Feeds Limited, with AVP (Sales and Marketing) Md. Samiul Alim also in attendance.

USGBC's Bangladesh Consultant, Mahe Alam Sarwar, said the training's main objective was to raise farmers' awareness of modern technology and scientific management practices, and to encourage their application at the field level. "Investing in better farming today means building a stronger agricultural economy for tomorrow," he said. USGBC was described as an international organisation working to expand the use of grains and bio-products worldwide, promoting sustainable production systems in the livestock and fisheries sectors and extending technical assistance and training to developing countries, including Bangladesh.

Nourish Feeds was described as a well-established livestock and fish feed manufacturer in Bangladesh that, alongside producing quality feed, provides farmers with regular training, technical support and advisory services in support of the country's fisheries and livestock sector.

A diversified aquaculture belt
Farmers attending the sessions reported cultivating a wide range of species. Carp and pabda were the most widely cultivated, followed by tilapia and pangas, while tengra, koi-associated species, golda (freshwater prawn), bagda and vannamei shrimp, and horina fish were also cited underscoring the diversified nature of pond aquaculture across Jashore, Narail and Satkhira.

What farmers valued most
Asked to identify the single most important lesson from the training, farmers' responses converged around a small set of practical, farm-level skills pointing to where the greatest knowledge gaps had existed. Water-quality testing was cited most frequently, with many participants specifically highlighting the process of testing pH and ammonia levels and using a Secchi disk to measure water transparency. Feed and feeding management followed closely, with farmers emphasising correct feeding techniques and schedules. Pond preparation, fry and seed selection, and the monitoring of temperature and dissolved oxygen levels were also frequently mentioned.

Several farmers described the sessions in broader terms as practical and useful, noting that the training had strengthened ties between farmers and field officers and had shown them how to improve fish cultivation and boost profit margins.

Taken together, the feedback indicates that demand among fish farmers in the region is not centred on any single technique, but on an integrated, science-based approach to pond management combining regular water testing, disciplined feeding, careful stocking and biomass management, and closer daily observation of fish behaviour as the surest path to more sustainable and profitable aquaculture in Jashore, Narail and Satkhira.