From village ponds to a farm where nothing goes to waste, generates lakhs in profit

Fish, pigs, goats, poultry, crops and food processing are linked in a cycle designed to minimise waste.

“Not every village pond is suitable for fish farming,” Taggar says. “In Malwa, only a small proportion can be commercially used. Some have sewage inflow, while others face problems such as encroachment.”

From nine acres to 19

Taggar inherited nine acres and, in the early 1990s, converted 2.5 acres into a fish pond. As the returns improved, he reinvested his earnings in land. He now owns 19 acres, with 11 acres devoted to fish ponds and aquaculture, including a hatchery. The remaining eight acres are under wheat and paddy.

The 11 acres bought over the years are now worth around Rs 4-5 crore, he says. Land purchased for about Rs 1.5 lakh an acre is now valued at Rs 40-50 lakh.

“It was not one big investment. Whatever we earned, we kept putting back into farming and gradually expanded,” he says.

The farm produces six varieties of fish, including rohu, catla and grass carp. Production is around 2.5-3 tonnes an acre, with the 11-acre fish ponds generating annual sales of Rs 25-30 lakh, depending on production and prices. Fish sell for Rs 100-120 a kg.

“My 11-acre fish pond generates revenue worth the revenue earned from 50 acres from wheat and paddy farming,” he says.

The leased ponds cost around Rs 20 lakh a year.

After feed, labour, seed, management and lease expenses, Taggar estimates his savings from fish farming at around Rs 50-60 lakh annually.

His hatchery produces several lakh fish seed every year, part of which is used on the farm and the rest sold to other farmers.

To strengthen his knowledge, Taggar underwent fisheries training in 1996 at facilities in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kolkata and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana.

A farm built on recycling

Taggar started a piggery in 2007 and now keeps around 100 pigs. Pig waste helps generate plankton and other natural organisms that serve as fish feed, reducing dependence on commercial feed.

Once the fish cycle is complete, nutrient-rich pond water is used to irrigate his crop fields, reducing dependence on fertilisers.

He added goat farming in 2016 and now keeps around 100 goats. Their litter is used as manure, while desi poultry and quail consume leftover feed around the goat unit.

“Nothing should go to waste,” Taggar says.

The farm has also moved into processing. After receiving training, the family began making pickles and other products from fish, pork, goat meat, desi chicken and quail under its Khiala brand.

“We do not have to go looking for customers. People come here for fish, and they know about our other products too,” he says.

His sons, Sukhdeep Singh Taggar, an MBA, and Man-deep Singh, who has completed Class 12, now help manage the enterprise.

Taggar received a state award in 2011, and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal visited his farm twice.

“Despite discouragement by people around you, one should not feel shame doing any work. For me, the village pond was the starting point. Four decades later, my farm has grown into an enterprise combining 19 acres of owned land, 40 acres of leased ponds, aquaculture, agriculture, livestock, poultry and food processing — all from my native village,” he says.