The commercialization of mussel farming in

Kerala has created more part-time jobs during

the crop period and has also helped in the development of several ancillary industries. It Development of ancillary industries related to mussel farming in Kerala1219 is estimated that during 2005-06, in the threenorthern districts viz Kasaragod, Kozhikode and Malappuram, the farmed mussel production by the rack method was 7496, 211 and 399 tonnes (t) respectively. To support such extensive mussel farming, several ancillary industries have also developed and the impact is widespread

Kripa, V

Mohamed, K S

Surendranath, V G

CMFRI Digital Repository

TECHNICAL AND EXTENSION SERIESCENTRAL MARINE FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTECOCHIN, INDIA(INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH)ISSN 0254-380 XMARINE  FISHERIESINFORMATION  SERVICENo. 191 January, February, March 2007Mar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 191, 2007 13conversion rates) during the period 2005-06.The total area utilized for rack farming during2005-06 was estimated as 14.14 ha with12.14 ha in Kasaragod (KAS). On bottomfarming was done in 11.17ha in the statemainly at Kozhikode and Malappuram dis-tricts.  At Kannur, a district betweenKasaragod and Kozhikode, rack method offarming has till not been adopted by villagers,instead, on-bottom method is popular whichhas resulted in the utilization of 4.58 ha areaand an annual production of 825 t of mus-sels.  In the southern districts, mussel farmingis done only in limited area and the produc-tion is comparatively low.The average productivity for rack method wasestimated as 564.9 t/ha, while for on-bottommethod it was 171.9 t/ha.  However, therewas regional difference in productivity withhigh values in Kasaragode. The constraintsfaced by the mussel farmers was identifiedbased on a survey conducted in the majormussel farming areas located at Cheruvathur,Padanna, Thrikaripur and Valiaparamba atKasaragod, Elathur in Kozhikode andVallikunnu at Malappuram.All the farmers of KAS indicated marketingof farmed mussel as the major problemFig. 1. Constraints of mussel farmers in thethree districts of north Kerala(Fig.1). Between 50 to 55% of the farmersalso felt that seed availability, slipping of seedmussel and poor growth of mussels as prob-lem.  At Kozhikode, silting within the farmand reduction of depth at the farm site werecited as the major problems and only less than10% of the farmers indicated marketing, seedslipping and poor growth of mussels as prob-lems.  Silting was the major problem of mus-sel farmers at Malappuram also, with 93% offarmers indicating their concern in the addi-tional labour incurred to clear the silt on al-ternate days.  Marketing, seed availability, andseed slipping were also problems of few farm-ers at Malappuram.Prepared by : V. Kripa, V.G. Surendranathand K.S. Mohamed, CRC of CMFRI,CalicutThe commercialization of mussel farming inKerala has created more part-time jobs dur-ing the crop period and has also helped in thedevelopment of several ancillary industries. ItDevelopment of ancillary industries relatedto mussel farming in Kerala1219Mar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 191, 2007 14is estimated that during 2005-06, in the threenorthern districts viz Kasaragod, Kozhikodeand Malappuram, the farmed mussel produc-tion by the rack method was 7496, 211 and399 tonnes (t) respectively.  To support suchextensive mussel farming, several ancillary in-dustries have also developed and the impactis widespread (Fig.1).A study was conducted in the three districtsto evaluate the development of other indus-tries and the estimates and inferences are givenbelow. Regional differeces in farm structureand inputs used were observed (Table.1) inthe three regions. The Korapuzha andKadalundy estuaries in Kozhikode andMalappuram respectively, were shallow andthe mussel ropes were not hung vertically in-stead they were tied horizontally. The priceof seed varied depending upon the farm site.The main seed collection sites were atKozhikode and the farmers at Kasaragod hadto pay more for the seed including the trans-portation cost. Because of the shallow natureof the site and as the low tidal flow siltation ishigh at Kozhikode and Malappuram, thefarmers have to bear additional expenses toremove the silt which gets deposited beneaththe farm. Based on these facts the quantity ofinputs required for farming and the expensesincurred were estimated for unit area (Table.1)From the survey data, estimates of produc-tion and farm inputs and related labour dayswere made for the period 2005-06.Part-time employment: Though the musselfarmers themelves attended to the farmingactivites, they also hire other villagers for seed-ing, farm construction, seeding and harvest-ing.  Each year during the farming season, vil-lagers, mostly women get part time employ-ment in all the three districts.  In North Kerala,during the year 2005-06 employment oppor-tunities, exclusively for seeding, estimated as12627 labour days was created which isworth to Rs.6.3 lakhs assuming that one per-son can seed 50 m rope at a daily wage ofRs.50. Nearly 50% of the seeding is done bywomen farmers. The flexibility of workinghours and the nearness of work site has en-couraged villagers to involve in mussel seed-ing during the stocking period.Similarly, when the farms are harvested at astretch, additional labour is hired by the farm-Table 1. Details of mussel farm for stocking 100 m of seeded rope in three major locationsKasargod Kozhikode MalappuramSize of farm (m) 4.5mx4.5m 20m x 3.5m 20m x 3.5mArea (sq.cm) 20.25 70sqm 70sqmDepth 1.5 to 3 m >1.5m 1 to 2mTotal expense 6000 8500 8000Method of tying mussel ropes Vertical Horizontal HorizontalMar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 191, 2007 15ers for declumping and loading the musselsto the transportation trucks.  More businessopportunities are created .  During the periodApril to May, mussels are harvested almosteveryday by farmers and these are sold in smallquantities in the nearby markets by other vil-lagers, mostly women  who are not directlyinvolved in mussel farming. Nearly 10% ofthe mussel production is marketed by the vil-lagers in the local market.Mussel seed collection and supply: Themussel seeds required for farming at NorthKerala are supplied by mussels fishers from13 main collection centers namely Anangadi,Bakel, Beypur, Chaliyam, Chettikulam,Chombala, Kanhangad, Kannor, Kasargod,Kottikulam, Kozhikode, Manjeswaram andThuvappara.  During the period 2005-2006approximately 1799 tones of mussel seedvalued at Rs.98 lakhs were collected and sup-plied to mussel farmers in Kasargod.  Themussel farmers at Kozhikode andMalappuram utilized approximately 29 and49.8 t seed valued at Rs.1.02 and 1.7 lakhsrespectively.  Altogether 1878 t of seed val-ued at Rs.101.7 lakhs collected from differ-ent centers was utilized for mussel farming.For collecting the seed required for Kasargod,Fig. 1. Ancillary industries related to mussel farmingMar. Fish. Infor. Serv., T&E Ser., No. 191, 2007 16Kozhikode and Malappuram, employmentopportunities in terms of labour days has beenestimated as 17991,292 and 499 respectively(Total=18783 labour days). The businessturn-over at collection site is estimated asRs.5397386, Rs.87750 and Rs.149696 (To-tal = Rs.5634832 or Rs.56.3 lakhs) respec-tively when the price per 100 kg of seed mus-sel is Rs.300.Production of material for farming: Coirrope spun at 5 centers in and aroundKasaragode disctrict was used for seedingby mussel farmers of Kasaragod. Nylon rope,bamboo poles and other materials used bymussel farmers were supplied by traders innorth Kerala. During 2005-06, approximately600 t of coir rope worth Rs. 30 lakhs, cottoncloth valued at Rs.30 lakhs and nylon threadworth Rs.4.5 lakhs were used as inputs in theindustry. 19 main centers were identified asthe major centers which supply material formussel farming. (Anayarangadi, Athani, Atholi,Beypur, Chaliyam, Cheruvathoor, Elathoor,Faroke, Kadalundi, Kattilappedika, Koilandi,Kotta, Kozhikode, Oori, Padanna,Parappanangadi, Thekkae Kattil, Thuruthi andVadakkaekad).Development of mussel markets: Widen-ing of mussel markets in the state is a directoutcome. From north Kerala farmed musselsare marketed to the southern regions evenupto Kollam, about 500 km from the pro-duction sites.  There are 14 major purchasepoints at seven locations such as Kannur (4),Koduvally (2), Thalasherry (1), Muttangal (1),Payyoli (1), Kozhikode (4), and Chaliyam(1). This has helped the mussel venders toget a consistant supply of mussels in additionto normal supply from natural beds. Relatedto this, a market chain itself has developedlinking the farmers, agents, wholesalers, re-tailers, restaurants and even meat shuckingunits by women. There are about 100 womenearning livelihood through shucking of musselunder major mussel venders for supplyingmussel meat to restaurants.Transport of raw and farmed material :Supplying seed to the farmers and distribu-tion of harvested mussels from the farm siteto the distant markets is done by coastal vil-lagers. Trucks with a capacity of 3, 4, 6 or10 t ply between the production and distri-bution sites. Based on the quantity of seedutilized, it has been estimated that for trans-portation of seed for supplying at Kasargod,Kozhikode and Malapuram approximately360, 3 and 5 labour days (Total = 368 la-bour days) @ 2 persons for 10t capacitytruck) and for transporting harvested musselfrom farm site 2249, 63 and 120 labour daysof employment for truck drivers respectivelywill be created (@ 2 persons per truck of 6 tcapacity, Total = 2432 labour days). Thusduring the crop season of 2005-06, 2807 la-bour days related to main transport alone hasbeen created.Prepared by : V. Kripa, V.G. Surendranathand K.S. Mohammed, R.C. of CMFRI,Calicut

Development of ancillary industries related to mussel farming in Kerala

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