National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) conducted its 9th Governing Body meeting at Lecture Hall, NASC Complex, New Delhi today. Shri. Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying chaired the Governing Body meeting. Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Vice Chairman of the governing body and Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Minister of State, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, special invitee and other officials of the governing body, Member (Agriculture), Niti Ayog participated in the meeting. Minister from States who participated physically in the meeting were from Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Mizoram, Tripura & Sikkim. It was virtually attended by Ministers from States of Haryana and Puducherry. Shri Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India , Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture), NITI Aayog, and Secretaries of other Departments and 14 nominated Non-official governing body members from different states were also present in the meeting.
Shri Parshottam Rupala released a book on “Super Success Stories from Indian Fisheries” published by NFDB commemorating 75th Independence Day- Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations an outreach activity with a focus to disseminate the technologies, innovative ideas practiced by the small-scale farming sector and to expand the promotion of initiatives to larger population, successful fisheries and aquaculture practices across the country. It was followed by launch of an online market place feature “Aqua Bazar” app developed by ICAR-CIFA with the funding support of NFDB under PMMSY. The app will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seed, feed, medicines etc. and services required for fish culture as well as farmers can list the table size fish for sale. It is a market place which connects various stakeholders involved in aquaculture sector.
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan stated that there is immense potential for shrimp farming in the States of Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Punjab. He added that aquaculture is developed in these states, they can compete with Andhra Pradesh in shrimp production. He said that extension services should be provided to farmers of these states. He added that Animal Welfare board facility can be utilized for establishment of training center. He further said that NFDB in collaboration with ICAR should make a plan for development of shrimp farming in the region.
Dr. L. Murugan, Vice Chairman stated that fisheries departments need to focus in infrastructure development projects, such as fishing harbours, fish landing centers, ice plants & cold storages. He further added that Government for the first time under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav has taken up promotion of startups by the entrepreneurs to achieve the targeted fish production.
Shri Jatindra Nath Swain briefed about the role of NFDB in the fisheries sector, the technical arm of Department of Fisheries and its contribution in development of fisheries sector in the country.
Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture), NITI Aayog stated that fisheries sector is showing a record regular growth of around 8% during the past decade. He stated that Board should show the output and outcomes as per the objectives set to the Board. He stated that Andhra Pradesh is contributing about 52% of the inland fish production. He said that One District one Product has to be promoted and frontline technologies have to be applied in fisheries sector.
National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) was established in the year 2006 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare with its headquarters at Hyderabad to realize the untapped potential of fisheries sector in inland and marine, fish culture, capture, processing & marketing of fish, and accelerate the overall growth of fisheries sector with the application of modern tools of research & development.
NFDB is headed by the Chief Executive. The Board is constituted with two levels of Committees, the Governing Body & Executive Committee for having a guidance on the administrative matters, activities of Board and any new amendments/rules that shall occur in the Board. The Governing Body meeting is held once in a year and Executive Committee meeting are held on quarterly basis. Till date, NFDB has organized 8Nos of Governing Body meetings under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Minister.
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