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Shrimp farming has helped drive up incomes in rural areas and has become a valuable export business. India is the world’s biggest exporter of frozen shrimp, a trade worth almost $5bn (\u00a34bn) a year.<\/p>\n
But some think it could be done in a way that is less damaging to the environment.<\/p>\n
“Around one million rural farmers and coastal communities depend on shrimp and fish aquaculture, but traditional farming practices prevent them from achieving production efficiency and fail to predict diseases,” says Rajamanohar Somasundaram, the chief executive and co-founder of Aquaconnect. <\/p>\n
Mr Somasundaram is betting that better quality data will raise productivity across the whole aquaculture industry.<\/p>\n
His firm Aquaconnect, founded in 2017, collects data and offers it to all parts of the industry. For farmers, it has developed an artificial intelligence, which takes account of the farmer’s resources and can advise on the best amounts of feed to use, or how to improve water quality. <\/p>\n
The firm offers information for retailers and seafood buyers, including demand prediction and harvest prediction. Aquaconnect also gathers data on farms that is useful for banks and insurance firms, who work with farmers.<\/p>\n
“The dominance of unscientific farming practices, lack of access to quality farm inputs, and identifying the right buyer to sell harvested products are always a great challenge,” says Mr Somasundaram.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n