ICAR-CIBA, Chennai organises Hands-on Training on ‘Farming of Mud Crab and Blue Swimmer Crab to Enhance Capacity Building for Sustainable Livelihood of Coastal Scheduled Caste Communities’

4-6 August 2026, Chennai

ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai, organized a three-day Training-cum-Exposure Programme on “Mud Crab and Blue Swimmer Crab Farming for Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement of Coastal Scheduled Caste communities” from 4–6 August 2026 at the Muttukadu Experimental Station (MES), ICAR-CIBA, Tamil Nadu, under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) programme.

Dr M. Kailasam, Director, ICAR-CIBA, emphasized the importance of adopting scientific mud crab farming technologies, utilizing hatchery-produced quality seed, and diversifying aquaculture practices to improve the income, livelihood security, and socio-economic status of coastal Scheduled Caste farmers. He encouraged the participants to make effective use of the technologies and technical support provided by ICAR-CIBA for establishing sustainable and profitable crab farming enterprises.

The importance of blue swimmer crab feed, developed for the first time in India by ICAR-CIBA, and its proper management was highlighted, along with the potential impact of El Niño on coastal regions.
The programme included lectures on mud crab seed production, nursery rearing, farming technologies, integrated crab–shrimp and crab–seaweed farming, feed technology, soil and water quality management, and crab disease management.

Practical sessions and exposure visits were conducted at the ICAR-CIBA hatchery facilities at MES, Muttukadu, and a commercial crab farm at Kalpakkam. As part of the livelihood support initiative, hatchery-produced mud crab seeds, digital weighing balances and plastic containers were distributed to the participating farmers. The participants appreciated the practical training and exposure visits and requested more such capacity-building and demonstration programmes for their upliftment of livelihood.

A total of 21 Scheduled Caste farmers from Pudhunemmeli and Kovalam villages of Chengalpattu district participated in the training-cum-exposure programme.

(Source: ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai)