Guwahati: Bhargav Kumar Bhagawati, a young aquaculture entrepreneur from Assam, has been felicitated by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, on the occasion of the 26th National Fish Farmers’ Day in recognition of his contribution to scientific fish farming and rural entrepreneurship.
The award from ICAR-CIFA, India’s premier freshwater aquaculture research institute, recognises Bhagawati’s efforts in modernising Assam’s fisheries sector and promoting aquaculture as a sustainable livelihood.
Bhagawati joined his family’s fisheries enterprise, Pabhoi Fish Farm, in 2013 after leaving a multinational company. Since then, he has transformed the farm into one of Northeast India’s leading fish seed production and aquaculture training centres.
Under his leadership, the farm has trained more than 10,000 youths through hands-on programmes while producing quality Indian Major Carp (IMC) seed and breeding high-value indigenous species such as Pabda, Gulsha and Chital.
The farm now supplies fish seed across Assam and the Northeast as well as to several other parts of the country, earning the confidence of fish farmers for its quality broodstock and seed production.
Bhagawati has also worked closely with leading fisheries research institutions, including ICAR-CIFA, ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research (DCFR), ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the College of Fisheries at Raha and Tripura, besides several agricultural universities.
He has frequently been invited by research institutes, universities and government agencies to train farmers, students and aspiring entrepreneurs in scientific aquaculture.
Bhagawati credited the success of the enterprise to the foundation laid by his father, Biren Bhagawati, a veteran fish farmer from Assam who has mentored thousands of aspiring fish farmers over the years.
The recognition comes at a time when Assam is increasingly focusing on expanding fish production and reducing dependence on imports, with scientific aquaculture and quality fish seed emerging as key drivers of the state’s blue economy.