NCDC to boost fisheries exports under PM Matsya Sampada Yojana

Mangaluru

COOPEXCIL, the cooperative sector exports promotion council, organized a Fisheries Exports Promotion Workshop under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna (PMMSY) at Mangaluru in Karnataka on March 19. The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the apex development finance institution of the central government, has steered COOPEXCIL to realize the goal of cooperatives contributing a major share to the GDP of India.

Speaking at the workshop, Sundeep Nayak, Managing Director of NCDC, said that the flagship PMMSY had earmarked an investment of more than Rs 20,000 crore as part of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat package. It is estimated that fish production in India would increase to 22 million metric tonnes and fisheries export earnings reach Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.

The workshop saw the participation of stakeholders from a wide spectrum representing the fishers, cooperative institutions, fish processors, fish exporters, government bodies, academic and research institutions. Sahakar Bharati functionaries also partnered with NCDC in organizing the workshop. Ramesh Vaidya, former national President of Sahakar Bharati, lauded the efforts of NCDC in mainstreaming the potential of the fisheries cooperatives of the region.

Officers from the Department of Fisheries of the central government highlighted the supportive ecosystem created in fisheries exports. Discussions in the workshop covered seafood exports, infrastructure support for export promotion, deep-sea fishing for exports and quality standardization issues for exports.

Dr Rajeev Ranjan, former Secretary (Fisheries) in central government and currently senior advisor in NCDC, delivered a keynote address. Experts from the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka and from central organizations like the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) contributed immensely to the discussions. Experts from the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, also participated.

Through the workshop, bottlenecks in the region were identified and interventions required at various levels were drawn up. Other issues like brand development, leveraging networks, market intelligence, joint ventures, vertical and horizontal expansion in aquaculture, the introduction of new technologies, and exchange of best practices were highlighted.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NCDC and the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, during the workshop.

The series of fisheries exports workshops being organized by COOPEXCIL-NCDC is also aimed at bringing out a framework road map for fisheries exports enhancement.