Kochi graduates win ₹10 lakh grant for bucket system that brings premium mud-crab farming inland
Two postgraduates from Kochi launched STEM Systems and secured a national ₹10 lakh grant for a bucket-based mud-crab farming method usable away from the coast.
Graduates Arundas N H and Aswathy T of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences created the startup STEM Systems to make mud-crab cultivation viable away from coastal waters. Their solution uses individual-crab buckets and a synthetic brackish-water formula, Aquamin, to prevent cannibalism and supply the mineral conditions crabs need. The venture secured a ₹10 lakh innovation grant after winning the Fisheries Startup Grand Challenge 2.0, run by the Department of Fisheries, Government of India.
In April 2024, ICAR-CCARI partnered with the founders for a field demonstration in Kochi, after which training programmes reached about 300 farmers and roughly 120 have installed crab-fattening units in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. STEM Systems also provides seed stock, technical support and a buy-back market for crabs over 1 kg. The initiative could expand premium crab production to inland regions, reducing reliance on coastal ponds.
Why it matters
It could enable inland farmers to profit from high-value mud-crab aquaculture, diversifying rural incomes.
In this story
