Rupala releases ‘Seaweed Farming Entrepreneurship by Cooperatives’ booklet

New Delhi

A booklet providing an overview of the challenges and opportunities in ‘Seaweed Farming Entrepreneurship by Cooperatives’ was released here on Aug 17 by Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The event was also marked by the presence of Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Managing Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries.

After releasing the document, Rupala said, “Recognizing the potential of the sector, the government has developed a road map to establish a seaweed processing industry and matching seaweed cultivation. India is aiming to increase seaweed production from the current production levels of 2,500 tonnes to 11.5 lakh tonnes in the next five years. In fact, this can be achieved by using just 1 per cent of India’s 8000-kilometre-long coastline.”

The document captures in detail the inputs and recommendations arising out of an international webinar on “Entrepreneurship Development through Seaweed Business by Cooperatives” held on 28 January 2021 with an aim to promote seaweed business and its value-chain through cooperatives, according to a statement by the NCDC.

The webinar had been jointly organized by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; Lakshmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative Research and Development Academy (Linac)-NCDC; and the Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC), Bangkok, a regional forum established by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organizations (UN-FAO).

International experts and other participants from Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, France, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela, besides those from India, deliberated on the challenges in developing entrepreneurship among cooperatives in the sector and possible solutions to those challenges, said the statement.

The members from cooperative societies, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers and academicians, and other stakeholders from the seaweed industry were among those who participated in the workshop.

It aimed to contribute to the agenda of promoting entrepreneurship in the seaweed business, especially through cooperatives, and enhancing the socio-economic wellbeing of seaweed farmers and other stakeholders in the country.

It focused on the Asia-Pacific region and outlined the business opportunities in seaweed farming and its ability to enhance the income of seaweed farmers, especially women, the statement added.