Agartala, September 18, 2025: The Department of Biotechnology, Government of Tripura, on Thursday organized a workshop on “Wolffia: An Alternative Fish Feed” at Pragna Bhavan, with Science, Technology and Environment Minister Animesh Debbarma inaugurating the event.

Speaking to reporters, Minister Debbarma pointed out that fish farmers are heavily burdened by the rising price of conventional feed—often crossing ₹100 per kilogram—along with the challenge of timely feed management, both of which affect aquaculture productivity.

To address these concerns, the state’s Biotechnology Department, in collaboration with the College of Fisheries, Lembucherra, and supported financially by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, has initiated a project to cultivate Wolffia, a tiny aquatic plant.

Officials highlighted Wolffia’s advantages: it grows within seven days, improves fish health and growth, is completely organic, reduces reliance on synthetic feed, and cuts production costs significantly. Scientific trials by the College of Fisheries confirmed Wolffia’s effectiveness over artificial feeds.

The workshop also discussed commercialization strategies to make Wolffia feed available to farmers at subsidized rates. Senior officials of the Biotechnology Department, the Dean of the College of Fisheries, and other dignitaries attended the programme.