The Hindu Business Line : Govt mulls fisheries development board

Mr Sharad Pawar, Minister for Agriculture, flanked by Dr Joachin Von Braun, Director-General, IFPRI (right), and Dr Isher Ahluwalia, Chairperson, IFPRI Board of Trustees, at an international conference on Public-Private Partnership for harnessing the Potential of Rainfed Agriculture in the Capital on Thursday. — Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Oct. 20

THE Government is considering establishment of a National Fisheries Development Board to exploit the potential for increased production of fish with a special focus on inland aquaculture, said Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

While speaking at the two-day international conference on Public Private Partnership in Rainfed Agriculture, organised by FICCI, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (Icrisat), Mr Pawar said the instances of farmers' suicides are almost non-existent in those regions where the farmers had an opportunity to earn some income from allied activities such as livestock rearing and fisheries.

The Minister said, "We feel that it is possible to reach growth rates of 8-10 per cent in the fisheries sector mainly through inland aquaculture." He also saw a big role for the private sector in seed production, human resource development, post-harvest management and marketing in the fisheries sector.

He said rainfed agriculture calls for addressing critical issues such as availability of adequate credit at reasonable rates and expansion of the coverage of irrigation and better water management techniques. "It was equally important to focus on increasing public-private partnerships to harness the potential in horticulture, livestock and fishery."

Mr Pawar said in order to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of horticulture products and achieve sustainability in production, it was imperative to put in place adequate marketing infrastructure, suitable policy environment and mechanisms for articulating the technological needs of producers and processors.

Mr P.M. Sinha, Chairman FICCI Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, suggested that the Government announce the wastelands available for acquisition by the private sector on long-term lease. He called for the development of a weather insurance covering for crops to reduce the risk of farmers. The Union Government should create an Agriculture Risk Fund and design a special insurance product and dispensation mechanism, he suggested.

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