Grassroot Innovations on Fishing Rafts in India

Abstract

Fisheries are entirely a people driven industry and have been growing at an impressive rate. Innovations in fisheries sector are happening continuously that lead to the creation of novel solutions to both common and uncommon problems faced by fishers. Different kinds of fishing boats and rafts are used in fishing which is expensive for poor fishers hence; innovations are a phenomenon in the development of fishing rafts. These innovations are made from locally available materials. Keeping this assertion in mind, a study was conducted with an objective to record the innovations on the development of fishing rafts and to check the appropriateness of these innovations on select parameters. The case of five innovations has been examined and discussed in this paper and confirmed by means of a personal visit. Appropriateness of these innovations was tested on a fivepoint Likert scale. Point 5 being highly appropriate and 1 being least appropriate with innovation considered as appropriate if its score was above 3. Innovations were ranked by respondents (N= 140) who had graduation in Fisheries Sciences and all innovations were found to be appropriate with a score of above 3/5. It was observed that these innovations are contributing to the economic saving of the fishers and they are very effective in daily use and found efficiently contributing to routine work. The government must encourage farmers who are practising innovative methods which are easy to use, sustainable and offer economic incentives for good practices.