Union Minister for fisheries, animal husbandry Purushottam Rupala has launched phase 2 of the National Surveillance programme for aquatic animal diseases and genetic improvement programme in Chennai.
In his inaugural speech, he said that the Pradhan Mantri Sampada Yojana was launched with the aim to increase fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonnes and increase fish export earnings to One lakh Crore rupees in 2024 -25.
The Minister said that to maintain a sustained level of fish production, it was important to identify and provide solutions to the industry.
With an aim to provide an impetus to the industry, he said that the National Surveillance programme for aquatic animal diseases was launched. He told that 33 Crore rupees were allocated for a period of three years for the implementation of the programme. He said, the diversification of Brackish water aquaculture with different species of Shellfish and Fin fish is important. The surveillance programme will help the farmers to identify and report the disease and also offer solutions. A separate app has been developed for the timely reporting of fish diseases.
The production from shrimp aquaculture increased from about one lakh ton in 1990 to more than nine lakh tonnes in 2022. To avoid over-dependence on a single species and also to develop native shrimps by selective breeding. Scientists will develop an improved variety of Indian white shrimp in the next three to five years.
The Minister also launched a crop insurance scheme for shrimp-growing farmers. The India Council for Agricultural Research and CIBA in association with the insurance company has evolved the insurance Scheme. This will facilitate and popularise shrimp farming in the country in future and also provide a new direction in realising the dream of the Blue Revolution.