According to Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy, the fisheries sector needs to focus on domestic market consumption as well as exports, using more scientific ways of production.
Realizing the sector’s potential, the government has set a national goal of increasing fish production to 22 million metric tonnes by 2024-2025, which will benefit 28 million fishermen and fish farmers, as well as nearly twice that number along fish-related value chains, according to the minister, who spoke at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, National Fisheries Development Board.
“At the moment, shrimp accounts for 74 percent of India’s exports; yet, value-added items account for only 7% of total exports. As a result, there is a lot of room to boost value-added exports while also raising prices for fishermen. In order to do this, India must focus on improving seed quality and availability, as well as smart farming and food safety requirements, according to Rajnikant Rai, Chief Executive, ITC’s Agri Businesses Division.
During the last five years, the Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture sector has grown at an average annual rate of 7.53 percent. During 2019-20, the country exported 12.89 lakh metric tonnes of fisheries goods worth Rs 46,662 crore (USD 6.68 billion).
“Technology will allow wastelands to be turned to wetlands, increasing productivity and opening up new investment opportunities in high-demand categories like seaweed farming,” stated Dr. L Murugan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy.
The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was established with a fund size of Rs 7,522.48 crore to provide fisheries infrastructure facilities in both the marine and inland fisheries sectors, as well as to increase fish production.
In addition, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) was launched with a budget of Rs 20,050 crore, the largest investment in the fisheries sector ever. The PMMSY will be implemented in all states and union territories over a five-year period, from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25. As of January 2022, proposals of Rs 5,234 crore had been approved, benefiting around 16 million people.