Andalib Akhter / New Delhi
Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam were awarded for best performance in fisheries by the government of India on the occasion of ‘World Fisheries Day’ today.
Uttar Pradesh was awarded as best performing state in inland fisheries sector while Odisha got the award of the best Marine state and Assam amongst Hilly and NE states by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India.
The Govt. also awarded best Organisations for 2019-20 (Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd. (for Marine); Telangana State Fishermen Cooperative Societies Federation Ltd (for Inland), and Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd. (for Hilly region); Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh as best Marine District; Kalahandi, Odisha as best Inland District; Nagaon, Assam as Best Hilly and NE District.
The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, was the chief guest at the occasion. Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Minister for Dairy Development, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Government of Uttar Pradesh also graced the occasion and received the award on behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh, awarded as best performing State in inland fisheries sector. The fishers, fish farmers, entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials and Scientist from across the nation also participated in the grand event.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister of State, Sarangi said, “World Fisheries Day is our way of thinking globally and acting locally as we reach out to our fisher communities through local events. He said that through this event we send a message to our fishers, to our nation and to the world that fisheries is an important sector that contributes immensely to the socio-economic growth of the country.”
Sarangi said that the marine capture fisheries in the country has become stagnant and there is a paradigm shift from capture to culture based fisheries.
Aquaculture activities have to be taken up in India as the alternative way of meeting the growing demand of nutritional security.He also said that Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada at a total estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores intends to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare.
Sarangi said that the Fisheries sector is extremely diverse and quite dynamic. There is a need to streamline policies and programs to take R&D benefits to the farmers and fishers for orderly and sustainable utilisation of all potential resources with focus on increasing efficiency and reducing environmental footprint. He said, “We need to diligently explore the resources available in the country such as waterlogged area, wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, canals, ponds, tanks, floodplains, backwaters, lagoons, low saline inland areas for increasing the fish production.”
The Government of India is in the forefront in transforming the sector and to usher in economic revolution through Blue Revolution in the country. India is leading fish producing country and second major producer of fish through aquaculture in the world. Fisheries sector in India provides direct employment to about 28 million fishers and fish farmers besides meeting the food and nutritional security and foreign exchange earnings. India contributes about 7.7% to the global fish production and country ranks 4th in global exports of fish products. The sector envisioned to increase the farmers’ income through enhancement of production and productivity, improving the quality and reduction of waste. Taking into account the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Blue Revolution” which was launched in December, 2015 had made vital contributions towards the development of the sector. The Fisheries sector has contributed about 1.24% to the national GVA and about 7.28% of the agricultural GVA in 2018-19.
On 10th September, 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the “Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana” (PMMSY) at an estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores for a period of five years, i.e., from 2020-21 to 2024-25. PMMSY aims to achieve fish production to 22 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2024-25 and also to create an additional employment opportunity to about 55 lakh people.