Good news for fish farmers in North and Middle Andaman: the shrimp farming and cage culture training that opened in Sri Vijaya Puram on 28 October is heading north. A similar capacity-building programme will be held at Diglipur from 2 to 4 November 2026, giving island farmers a second, closer chance to learn scientific brackish water aquaculture from ICAR scientists.
This is not a repeat announcement for the sake of it. The first batch, running 28–31 October in Sri Vijaya Puram, was aimed at South Andaman farmers. The Diglipur batch takes the same training to the other end of the island chain — and if you farm in North and Middle Andaman, this is the batch built for you.
Diglipur training at a glance
| Detail | Diglipur batch |
|---|---|
| Programme | Brackish Water Aquaculture with Special Emphasis on Shrimp Farming and Cage Culture |
| Dates | 2–4 November 2026 |
| Venue district | Diglipur, North and Middle Andaman District |
| Organiser | Department of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration |
| Conducted by | ICAR–Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA), Chennai |
| Scheme | Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) Programme — Skill Development Intervention AN-12 |
| First batch (for reference) | Sri Vijaya Puram, 28–31 October 2026 |
The initiative is being carried out under the overall guidance of Ms. Chanchal Yadav, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, with financial support facilitated through the Department of Industries. That official backing matters: this is a government skill-development programme, not a private paid course pitch.
Batch 1 vs Batch 2: what changes, what stays the same
| Batch 1 — Sri Vijaya Puram | Batch 2 — Diglipur | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 28–31 October 2026 (4 days) | 2–4 November 2026 |
| District | South Andaman | North and Middle Andaman |
| Start time reported | 10 am on 28 October | Not stated in the report — confirm locally |
| Trainer | ICAR-CIBA, Chennai | ICAR-CIBA, Chennai |
| Theme | Brackish water aquaculture: shrimp farming + cage culture | Same programme, Diglipur venue |
One honest caveat, stated plainly because it matters for anyone planning travel: the Nicobar Times report of 27 October 2026 confirms the Diglipur dates and venue district, but it does not state a registration deadline, a seat count, a fee, or a start time for the Diglipur batch, and it does not say whether the trainee support that applied to the first batch applies here too. Do not assume those details — confirm them with the Department of Fisheries before you travel. The “how to join” section below tells you exactly what to ask.
What the training actually teaches
The programme title gives the syllabus in miniature: brackish water aquaculture, with two practical pillars — shrimp farming and cage culture. Here is why each pillar matters for an Andaman farmer, and what to listen for in the sessions.
1. Scientific shrimp farming
Shrimp remains India’s most valuable farmed seafood export, and brackish water ponds are its natural home. Scientific shrimp farming is less about stocking more seed and more about controlling what kills a crop: pond preparation and drying, water quality (dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia), quality seed from a trusted hatchery, sensible stocking density, feed management, and biosecurity — keeping disease out rather than treating it after it arrives. Farmers who attend should ask the CIBA trainers specifically about disease watch-outs in local conditions, including white spot and running mortality problems that Indian shrimp farmers know all too well.
2. Cage culture
Cage culture grows fish in enclosed nets placed in suitable open water — a creek, a bay, or a reservoir — instead of in a dug pond. For island farmers with limited land but access to sheltered water, it can be a lower-land-cost way into fish farming. The questions that decide whether cage culture works for you are practical: which species suit local water, what cage size and mesh to use, how feeding and net cleaning are managed, and how storms and currents are handled. Ask those questions by name at Diglipur; generic enthusiasm for cages is not a business plan.
3. Brackish water basics that tie both together
Both shrimp ponds and cages live or die on water. Salinity swings after rain, oxygen dips at dawn, and waste build-up under a cage are the everyday realities of brackish water farming. A good training does not just name these problems — it shows how farmers measure them, with simple kits and observation routines, and what action to take when a reading goes wrong. Take notes on the measurement routines, not just the theory slides.
Who should attend the Diglipur batch
- Fish farmers in North and Middle Andaman who already farm, or plan to start, brackish water ponds or cages — this batch saves you the trip south.
- SHG and cooperative members exploring aquaculture as a group livelihood, including under MSME-linked skill programmes.
- Youth and new entrants weighing shrimp or cage farming as a business — the training is a low-cost way to test the idea before investing in ponds or cages.
- Extension workers and local fisheries staff who advise farmers and need current, science-backed answers.
How to join: a 5-step checklist
- Contact the organiser first. Reach the Department of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration — or the district fisheries office for Diglipur — and say you want to attend the 2–4 November Diglipur batch of the RAMP brackish water aquaculture programme.
- Ask the five questions the report does not answer: (1) Is pre-registration required, and by when? (2) How many seats are there? (3) What time does it start each day? (4) Is there any fee, or any trainee support (travel/daily allowance) as in the first batch? (5) What should participants bring — ID, farm details, or anything else?
- Confirm the exact venue in Diglipur before 2 November. The report names the district, not a hall or campus — get the address in writing or by phone.
- Prepare two questions from your own farm. Trainers remember farmers who ask about a real pond, a real mortality event, or a real water problem. Bring your pond size, stocking details, and any recent water readings if you have them.
- Go with a notebook, not just a phone. Session timings, trainer contacts, and follow-up schemes are exactly the details that get lost in a camera roll.
Why this training wave matters beyond Andaman
India’s fisheries training push in 2026-27 is unusually broad: Bihar is training 9,685 fish farmers free of cost in 332 batches through the year, and ICAR-CMFRI’s 2026 calendar lists upcoming courses in fish seed production, water and sediment analysis, and zooplankton diversity. The Andaman programme fits the same pattern — government institutes taking practical, species-specific skills to farmers’ districts rather than asking every farmer to travel to a distant campus. For island farmers, who face higher travel costs than mainland farmers, a district-level batch is not a small convenience; it is the difference between attending and missing out.
The RAMP link is also worth noting. RAMP — the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance programme — is about making small enterprises more competitive. A fish farmer who learns scientific shrimp farming and cage culture is, in programme terms, an MSME upgrading its skills. That framing is useful if you later apply for scheme support: keep your training certificate and attendance proof safe, because skill records increasingly back up scheme applications.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Diglipur training the same as the Sri Vijaya Puram one?
It is described as a similar capacity-building programme under the same RAMP intervention, conducted by the same institute (ICAR-CIBA), with the same theme — but at Diglipur, 2–4 November, for North and Middle Andaman farmers.
Do I need to apply online?
No online application link is given in the report. Contact the Department of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, or the Diglipur district fisheries office and ask how registration for this batch works.
Is there a fee?
No fee is stated in the report. Confirm this with the organiser before attending — do not pay anyone claiming to sell seats for a government training programme.
Will there be a certificate?
Government capacity-building programmes normally document attendance, but the report does not confirm certification for this batch. Ask the organiser, and keep any attendance proof you are given.
I missed the Sri Vijaya Puram batch. Is Diglipur my last chance?
Diglipur is the second batch announced in the same report. Whether further batches follow has not been announced — treat 2–4 November as the batch to catch, and ask the department about future batches while you are there.
Related reading on Fisheries India
- Andaman Aquaculture Training Oct 28–31: Apply by Oct 23 — the first batch of this same RAMP programme, in Sri Vijaya Puram.
- Bihar Trains 9,685 Fish Farmers FREE — 332 Batches! — the year’s biggest free fisheries training drive.
- CMFRI Opens 3 Courses: Fish Seed to Zooplankton — three more ICAR courses running into December.
- Shrimp Farming in India: 20 MCQs Every Aspirant Must Try — test your shrimp basics before the training.
Sources checked 29 October 2026: Nicobar Times, “First Batch of Fisheries Department’s Training on Shrimp Farming and Cage Culture Commences October 28” (27 October 2026) — Diglipur batch 2–4 November 2026, organiser, trainer (ICAR-CIBA Chennai), RAMP programme, and guidance of Ms. Chanchal Yadav; Department of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, as organiser. Where the report is silent (registration process, seats, fee, start time, trainee support for Diglipur), this post says so and directs readers to the organiser rather than filling the gap. Background on shrimp and cage culture practice is general educational context, not a claim about the programme syllabus.