158 INDIAN JOURNAL OF EXTENSION EDUCATION Fish is an excellent source of energy, as it provides 1000-2000 kcal/kg. Moderately active females (19–30 years old) need 1500–2500 kcal/day, while males of the same age need 2500–3300 kcal/day. Generally, fish diets tend to be highly rich in protein. Protein requirement levels in children diets often approach or exceed 40% crude protein, while that for adults diets may contain 25- 35% protein. Fish in diet provides 15-25% protein. India is the sixth largest producer (5477 mt.) of fish. The total world fish production is 130882 mt., India is the second largest producer in the world of inland fish production, next to China, (Sharma 2006). Indian fisheries have made great strides during last five decades with an annual production of 6.4 million tons in 2005-2006. The present senerio of fish productivity in Madhya Pradesh is 1348 kg/ha comparatively lesser than the national productivity of 2186 kg/ha.The total water area in MP is 3.44 lakh ha, of which 3.24 lakh ha comes under fish production. In Jabalpur district there are 701 tanks/ponds, with an area of 8684 ha, and annual production of 2356 tons. India is second in inland fish production, it is therefore necessary to ensure that improved fish production technologies that have been developed and disseminated are adopted, in order to increase fish Assessing Knowledge and Adoption of Fish Farmers about Fish Production Technology in Madhya Pradesh Parvez Rajan 1 , M.K. Dubey 2 , Sonam Agrawal 3 and Sandeep Chauhan 4 ABSTRACT Fishery plays a very important role in the socio-economic development of nation through employment generation, contribution to food security and foreign exchange. The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge level and adoption of fish farmers about fish production technology. The study was conducted with 90 fish farmers randomly selected in 3 villages of Jabalpur district, which were results showed that. Fish farmers in Jabalpur were of comparatively young age group, education up to high school, low annual income, common pond for fish farming, minimum experience of 15 years, fish farming + singhara cultivation as their main occupation, low attitude towards fish farming, medium market orientation, high scientific orientation, low aspiration level, low use of information sources and training exposure. The knowledge level and adoption of fish farmers about recommended fish practices was medium. It was also observed that there was considerable variation in their knowledge and adoption on different aspects. 1 Ph.D scholar, 2 Associate Professor, 3 M.Sc scholar & 4 M.Sc scholar, Deptt of Extension Education, College of agriculture, JNKVV, Jabalpur. production. The fishery industry is crucial to the World economy. The livelihoods of millions of people worldwide are dependent on fish farming (Nwachukwu Ike, 2005). According to S Ayyapan of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India is home to more than 10 % of global fish biodiversity with 2200 species of fish and shellfish in the marine and inland waters. “With water resources in terms of 29,000 km of rivers, 3.15 million hectares of reservoirs, 2.35 million hectares of ponds and tanks and 0.2 million hectares of floodplain wetlands, the potential production levels are estimated at over 4.5 mmt annually,” Mr Ayyapan said. With fish becoming a popular diet component, aquaculture should be promoted with a view of achieving nutritional secrity and generating further employment opportunities. (About TheFish Site.com). Keeping the view in mind the present study was formulated to assess the knowledge and adoption of different fish production practices. There are two types of ownership of these ponds in panagar block i.e. Panchayat (leased) and individually owned (own) Panchayat Ponds constitutes more than 80% of the water area. The preparation of any development strategy means information about the existing Indian Journal of Extension Education Vol.47, No. 3 & 4, 2011 (158-163)