65th National Fish Farmers Day: The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying will celebrate National Fish Farmers Day on Sunday. The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), under the Ministry, will virtually organise an event at NFDB Hyderabad tomorrow on July 10.
Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and L Murugan will attend the programme. According to the Ministry, around 700 fish farmers, aquapreneurs, fisher folks, professionals, officials and scientists from across the nation are expected to participate in the event.
During the event, launching of four posters as an outreach on domestic fish consumption and sustainable production shall be released. Two posters will be released on “Fish for Motherhood” and “Fish Nutrients and their Wellness Benefits” by Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and two posters shall be released on “Sustainable Fishing Practices” and “State Fishes of India” by Dr L Murugan. NFDB Lab project on “Assessment of pathogenic microorganisms along with nutrient and residual contaminant profiling in fish and aqua feeds” will be also launched at the program.
During the programme, interaction with progressive fish farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), fish farmers availing quality seed from NFFBB giving feedback on growth performance of improved seed varieties and interaction with North East fish farmers to share their prospects in the fisheries sector is also planned. The entire program shall be live-streamed for reaching out to more public across the country. National Fish Farmers Day is celebrated on July 10 every year to demonstrate solidarity with all fisher folk, fish farmers and concerned stakeholders throughout the country.
It is 65th National Fish Farmers Day being celebrated across the Country. Every year, this annual event is celebrated to commemorate Professor Dr Hiralal Chaudhury and his colleague Alikunhi for their contribution in achieving the successful induced breeding of major carps on July 10 1957 at Angul in Odisha for the first time in the country through the administration of carp pituitary hormone extract in the breeding of major carps. The technology was later on standardized and fine-tuned by developing synthetic hormones for quality seed production across the country. This pioneering work of induced breeding over the years has transformed the growth of aquaculture sector from traditional to intensive aquaculture practices and led to the success of the modern aquaculture industry.
The Centre is at the forefront in transforming the fisheries sector and bringing about economic revolution through Blue Revolution in the country. The sector envisioned increasing 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” – Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries which was launched in 2016 and had made vital contributions towards the development of the sector and during 2020, Prime Minister launched the “Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana” (PMMSY) with a budget of over Rs 20,050 crores for a period of five years. PMMSY aims to achieve fish production of 22 MMT from the current 13.76 MMT by 2024-25 and create an additional employment opportunity to about 55 lakh people through this sector.
Also the scheme provides thrust for infusing new and emerging technologies in fisheries and aquaculture while creating a conducive environment for private sector participation, development of entrepreneurship, business models, promotion of ease of doing business, innovations and innovative project activities including start-ups, incubators etc. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) scheme was started in 2018-19 with a budget of Rs. 7,522.48 crores, which is also continuing presently. FIDF will specifically cater to the creation of fisheries infrastructure facilities both in marine and inland fisheries sectors to augment the fish production to achieve the target. Projects under the FIDF are eligible for loan up to 80 per cent of the estimated/actual project cost.
