- Create operational guidelines that detail how the association will manage fishing activities, including rules about fishery zones, seasonal closures, and sustainable practices. 

   - Establish a monitoring system to ensure compliance with these rules, reinforcing accountability among members. 

- Develop a procedure for registering members in the association, ensuring they meet all local requirements. 

- Guide association members through the process of obtaining their fishermen cards, emphasizing its importance as a legal requirement for their livelihood. 

-Taking fishermen identities, information and photo

- Conduct community meetings to gather fishers and discuss the benefits of forming local associations. 

- Facilitate the establishment of association statutes that outline membership requirements, roles, and responsibilities. 

In close collaboration with the Regional Directorate of Fishing and the Blue Economy of Diana, with whom we developed an action plan for the implementation of all the activity, mutually approved and signed.

Collecting data will be done by catching and releasing vultures by using a capturing cage. The capturing cage is progressively being built at a site where animal carcasses are regularly placed, this site is called "Vulture Restaurant". Vultures will then be fitted with GPS trackers, tagged, and released, allowing to record their movements and possibly locate their breeding grounds. Samples (blood, swabs, faeces, ectoparasites, and feathers) will be collected to assess the health of the individuals and check their exposure to diseases, environmental lead and possible NSAID contaminants. Samples will also be preserved for future conservation genetics.

Community/Cluster Information Centres (CICs) and Satellite Centres (SCs) in India function as Agroecological Kiosks and are established to provide access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in rural and remote areas, particularly to bridge the digital divide. These centres aim to empower communities by providing access to information and digital services that can enhance education, healthcare, governance, and economic opportunities.

10 CICs and 20 SCs have been established under the SAFAL project which offer farmers access to knowledge, technologies, finance, and meeting spaces. The CICs are located in the office of the farmer institution where farmers can now find: 

1. Information, applications and guidance on Government schemes and insurance, 
2. Market information about input supply and market demand in the fish value chain,
3. A knowledge hub containing training and knowledge products, digital services, printing or photocopying facilities, storage units and lastly a space to hold meetings, trainings. 

The SCs are extensions of CICs in remote areas and are situated within the residences of the CRPs in the villages. It likewise contains a selection of services such as the access to information, application and guidance on Government Schemes as well as access to smartphone with internet, small meeting, and training facilities, knowledge products and signboards. The primary purpose behind establishing SCs in remote areas is dissemination of information to rural residents who encounter challenges in commuting to the CICs.

To learn more about the CRP model see more in buidling block: Capacity Development & Extension Service: Community Resource Person Model

The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in India represents a grassroots approach to natural and organic certification, emphasizing community involvement, affordability, and transparency. By enabling small and marginal farmers to certify their products naturally and organically grown, PGS plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable agriculture and empowering farming communities in supplying certified fish to the domestic markets and local consumer.

PGS is recognized by the National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India and is designed to ensure that natural and organic products adhere to specific standards without the need for costly third-party certification. 

Guidelines for agricultural practices were already available, while under the SAFAL project a PGS Guideline for freshwater aquaculture from sustainable practices was co-created among stakeholder from government, civil society, and academia. 

Under the SAFAL project PGS is implemented with 500 women farmers in Morigaon district, Assam to promote natural farming of Indian Major Carb (IMC). 

This community-based endorsement approach offers farmers a low-cost certification system which enables them to achieve higher prices for their naturally grown fish, thus enhancing their income and improving their livelihood. 

The SAFAL project has co-created a Farm Record Book (FRB) for effective monitoring and enhancing a fish farm’s productivity by understanding input cost and profitability of the farming business, disease cycles and risks involved.

As an additional feature, the FRB comes with a cutting edge open-source based QR-code (quick response) digital monitoring solution, the Farmer Institution Real-time Monitoring System (FIRMS) for individual farmers to share records with their farmer institutions. Farmers, Farmer Institutions, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as well as Government institutions benefit from this digital innovation.

Each FRB is equipped with a unique QR code which helps in identifying and accessing information about individuals using the FRB for maintaining the records. The QR code helps to register their information online into a digital monitoring system to ensure that only designated representatives of the FIs as well as with the Government organisation (for example, Department of Fisheries) to have access to aggregated data of the district consisting of multiple farmer institutions helping to simplify resource management and record-keeping processes through data driven decision making. 

By enabling farmers to make informed decisions through effective resource management and for example early disease detection they can explore options to improve their productivity. Farmer Institutions can also benefit from detailed information on their members' livelihood activities, allowing them to develop aggregated business models and improve service delivery such as negotiating better prices for bulk sales or the purchase of feed. By analysing trends and identifying issues using the collected data, CSOs can provide targeted support and advice to farmers, enabling them to tailor interventions to specific needs and adapt to the ground. Access to data can enable Government Institutions to plan for resource allocation and program interventions, formulate evidence-based policies, and gain detailed information about stakeholders. 

 To learn more about the FRB and FIRMS have a look into the brochure. 

The concept of Aquaculture Business School (ABS) revolved around providing education and training focused on Fish as Farming a Business. The concept of ABS assumes that one of the farmer’s sources of income is generated from fish cultivation, complemented by two other agricultural activities e.g., duck farming and rice cultivation. It has been designed as replication of the Farmer Business School, successfully established by the GIZ Agri Business Facility in African countries. Under SAFAL, together with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and the Assam Rural Livelihood Mission the model has been tailored towards the aquaculture sector in India and for the first time implemented in India’s state of Assam. 

The training of ABS-Trainer (Training of Trainer, ToT) aims at enhancing the skills of teaching adult learning and knowledge of trainers in making business decisions and forecasting business risks. 

During the five-day ABS-Trainer-to-farmer training the participants covers the topics of assessment of profitability and investment needs, risk analysis, creation of a diversifying income strategies, annual business planning and entrepreneurial management.

Aquaculture Business School is about professionalizing producer initiatives, management, and demand for services and inputs.

• Assessing profitability, and investment needs.
• Risk analysis and mitigation plan over five years. 
• Income increases and income diversification.
• Higher efficiency and better quality of production.
• Personal freedom, informed decision-making, and investment.
• Professional ethics and behaviour as entrepreneurs.

The ABS model aims to empower farmers economically while adapting to local conditions and promoting sustainability.

During the first half of 2024 a master trainer was hired to train 20 ABS-trainers (ToT) in Assam. The training included equipping the participants with theoretical knowledge and allowed them to improve their training delivery through pair-learning and feedback sessions. The trained ABS-Trainer have reached out to 2000+ farmers by March 2025. Another 2000+ farmers are planned to be reached out to throughout 2025/2026.

The Community Resource Person (CRP) model in India is a community-driven approach to development and empowerment, particularly in rural areas. It involves identifying and training individuals from local communities to act as extension service providers, advisers, and mobilizers to address various socio-economic challenges and promote sustainable development. 

Under the SAFAL project more than 140+ CRP trainers (Train the Trainer, ToT) and 500+ CRPs and have been trained between 2021 and 2023 in Assam and Odisha. CRPs themselves are aquaculture farmer belonging to the local farmer institutions who are supporting up to 25 farmers. Up to now, CRPs are providing trainings and extension and advisory services to more than 7.000 farmers in rural areas on sustainable aquaculture practices to their communities. 

The selection process of CRPs involves several step starting from registration, selection among co-created criteria as well as following recommendations from farmer institutions such as Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) followed by an intensive capacity building course. 

The training, likewise, for CRPs and CRP-to-farmers, are conducted in tailored sessions conducted with the help of Knowledge Products (KPs) and Information, Education & Communication (IEC) material, such as the Farmer’s Handbook, a Training Manual for Trainers, the Farm Record Book and various training material. Those were co-created among scientists, government officials, experts in sustainable aquaculture practices, aquaculture operators and SAFAL technical to fit the exact needs of the local farmers. 

The training cascade contains basic and advanced modules using the didactic methodology for easy adoption of adult learning. The program consists of 30 per cent classroom and 70 per cent hands-on training as well as exposure visits to state-of-the arts hatcheries and research and educational institutions within different states. Making it accessible and inclusive to farmers all over, it is translated into local languages and designed in a way that it can be held in remote and rural areas using flipbooks, posters, and pamphlets to teach without access to electronics. 

CRPs are based within their farmer institutions (FPOs, FPCs, SHGs) and are motivated by social, environmental, and financial incentives, including selling goods and services, and facilitating access to finance.

Through this self-financed CRP model, thousands of small-scale farmers are empowered with knowledge and resources. This ground-level approach boosts yields within planetary boundaries while ensuring nutrition and food security.

You can find more information about the training materials (knowledge products and Information, Education & Communication material) and download them in the building block: Knowledge Products and Information, Education & Communication Material.