Ranchi, Nov. 10: The state fisheries department has netted another big catch.

After exponentially increasing fish cultivation from 14,000 tonnes to over 1.5 lakh tonnes in one decade, the department has now successfully embarked on another crucial business segment, fish feed manufacture.

In less than two months of manufacturing floating fish feed from its lone plant in Ranchi's Dhurwa, the fisheries department has managed to bag orders not just from Jharkhand buyers but from neighbouring Bihar too.

On Sunday, the department dispatched 5 tonnes of floating fish feed to Rohtas, Bihar. A week ago, a buyer from Sasaram, again Bihar, procured 1 tonne feed. If officials are to be believed, they currently have orders of 18,000 tonne feed from buyers in Jharkhand and Bihar and have received business queries from Chhattisgarh and even Punjab.

An upbeat Ashish Kumar, the managing director of Jharkhand State Co-operative Fisheries Federation Ltd (Jhascofish) and deputy director of state fisheries department, said fish feed manufacture was doing well.

"The Dhurwa plant debuted a year ago and was handed over to a fish growers society from Hatia, but could not perform well due to management issues. Then, in September 2015, our fisheries department director Rajiv Kumar decided to take over the facility with the aim to start our own manufacturing. The experiment seems to be working well."

Currently, the plant daily produces 1 tonne feed, which is a mixture of mustard, maize, rice bran oil and soya bean. "You can call it as a story of Make in Jharkhand," the Jhascofish MD said.

It is a recipe for success, he added, because demand is much higher than supply.

Asked why, he said the reason their fish feed became an instant hit was because it gave a convenient alternative to buyers in this region, who otherwise had to import it from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bengal.

"We sell feed at Rs 30 per kg with a 28 per cent protein content. Naturally, getting it from other states of the same quality takes more time and money. Also, our feed is showing good results on fish. Farmers who use it say their fish produce has drastically increased," said he.

Sanjay Kumar Lal, a resource person for making feed who is based in the Dhurwa plant, explained the economics of fish feed. "Initial studies so far have shown that if you spend Rs 50 on feed, you end up earning Rs 100. Good feed results in improving the size and weight of the fish," Lal said.

As it shows all signs of being a revenue-spinner, the fisheries department has now decided to hire vendors to set up outlets in all 24 districts, upgrade its Dhurwa facility and set similar units in Dhanbad, Bokaro, Koderma and Ramgarh.

"We are in touch with a Delhi based agency to upgrade the semi-automatic equipment at our Dhurwa plant into fully automatic ones. Civil work to set up units in Dhanbad, Bokaro, Koderma and Ramgarh has also started," Kumar said.