When SAFAL started reaching out to aquaculture farmers in 2021,  two of the key aspects to enhancing the availability of fish and income through sustainable aquaculture became apparent: the gap on technical knowledge and financial literacy on aquaculture operations and the difficulty of accessing financial support through existing schemes. 

For farmers, harnessing the potential for expansion of their practises required acquiring new technical skills, proper planning as well as investments into their operations. SAFAL set up an inclusive community-based training cascade (see building block: CRP model) which required the development of quality course materials, tailored to the local requirements. Under consideration of reviewing and harmonizing existing material, new state of the art training materials and best practices for sustainable aquaculture were co-created in a participatory manner among scientists, government officials, experts in sustainable aquaculture practices, aquaculture operators and SAFAL technical staff.

The knowledge products and IEC material created under SAFAL are integrated with each other and can be used individually or collectively. While they follow a session schedule covering the whole training cascade and cultivation sesason, learners can also utilize them individually by choosing seasonally applicably chapters or topics of their interest. 

The KPs and IEC material are distributed through the CRP-to-Farmer training (see building block: CRP model) they are also placed in CICs and SCs (see building block: Agroecological Kiosks).  

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. 

It refers to the joint participation of the nature reserve or neighboring communities and the nature reserve in the management and protection of the natural resources of the nature reserve, so that the natural resources of the nature reserve can be rationally developed and utilized, the biodiversity of the nature reserve can be protected, and the living standard of the community residents can be promoted.
 

Problems to be solved: give full play to the initiative of community residents, so that community residents participate in the management of the reserve, solving the problem of insufficient management personnel; establish trust and a good relationship between the reserve management bureau and the village collectives, which is conducive to the long-term sustainable development of the reserve.
 

Solution: Establish the “Mulinzi Reserve Co-construction and Co-management Committee”, specifically responsible for the leadership, command, supervision and coordination of the construction and management of the Mulinzi Reserve. Through the participation of many parties and the initiative of the local community, it will coordinate the relationship between the protection and utilization of natural resources, and promote the effective protection of biodiversity in the Mulinzi Reserve and the sustainable development of the regional economy.

Compensation for ecological protection refers to the incentive system arrangement of compensating units and individuals who carry out ecological protection in accordance with regulations or agreements through mechanisms such as financial vertical compensation, inter-regional horizontal compensation and market mechanism compensation. Ecological protection and restoration refers to a method of comprehensively restoring damaged ecosystems through biological restoration, physical restoration, chemical restoration as well as engineering and technical measures under the guidance of ecological principles, aiming to improve the quality and stability of ecosystems.
 

Problems to be solved: It is necessary to seek financial project funding support at all levels to ensure that the project can be implemented on the ground; it is necessary to fully understand the wishes of community residents and consult the relevant village committees before determining the planting varieties and the number and area of the planting; good planting techniques and rich experience in field management are required.
 

Solution: Include the community ecological protection compensation and restoration project in the central financial forestry and grassland ecological protection and restoration funds project to ensure that the project funds are in place; organize sharpshooter classes to go to the households to understand the community people's willingness to develop; hire professional cooperatives experts to carry out training to guide farmers in planting and field management.

 

The intention is to ensure access and availability of water for farmers and for domestic use and irrigation purposes for pastoralists in the community. Farm-led irrigation will help farmers be able to carry out year round agricultural activity, which will contribute to increased food production as well as improving livelihoods.

The ACReSAL project collaborates with three key ministries: Environment, Agriculture, and Water Resources. It operates across multiple institutional levels, including state, national, local, and community levels. This approach ensures that project implementers at all ministerial levels have their capacities strengthened, thereby sustaining the project's investments and efficient landscapes management.