Ranchi: Jharkhand Secretary for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives Abu Bakar Siddiqui participated in the two-day program organized on National Fish Farmers Day in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. He informed the Union Minister Mr. Purushottam Rupala about the fish production and possibilities in the Jharkhand state.
The schemes being implemented in the fisheries sector in Jharkhand, Agriculture Secretary Abu Bakar Siddiqui said the scheme of cage culture in mining pits has been started in the state as an innovation for two years, which has yielded positive results. Cage culture is being promoted continuously in the state and at present more than 7500 cages have been installed within the state of Jharkhand.
For 2023-24 a proposal of 5200 cages was sent to the Government of India for approval, which should be approved. He said at the time when Jharkhand was separated from Bihar and became a new state, at that time 14 thousand metric tonnes of fish used to be produced in the state, but today there has been a 20-fold increase in fish production in the state with a record production of 2 lakh 80 thousand metric tonnes.
A target of 3 lakh 70 thousand metric tonnes has been set in the next two years. Cage culture is being promoted continuously in the state. The Agriculture Secretary said the Union Minister like the Sagar Mitra scheme being run in the coastal states, Jharkhand and other states should also be given the benefit of the Matsya Mitra scheme.
The soil of Jharkhand is of hard nature, and the unit cost prescribed by the Government of India is low, which needs to be increased. The Agriculture Secretary demanded cooperation from the Government of India for the construction of aqua parks in Hazaribagh and Dumka and did not have to depend on other states for fish seed of other species like Mangur, Singhi Pangas etc.
Approval and technical support of Modern Hatchery, Brood Bank Scheme should be given. He said there is a need to build a fish aquarium house in Jharkhand as a state of the art, in which the cooperation of the central government is expected. In the two-day program, information about the schemes of the Government of India was given, along with a detailed review of the fisheries scheme in various states.
Prior to the programme, Agriculture Secretary Abu Bakar Siddiqui visited the Hygienic Fish Market in Pondicherry. Siddiqui said that the fish market here is quite hygienic. If the model here is implemented in Jharkhand, it will prove to be very beneficial for the fish farmers, as well as the availability of hygienic fish will always be available to the customers. He informed that about 150 farmers have been given space in the Hygienic Fish Market.
Individual space has been ensured for all the farmers. All the facilities including fridge, packaging, and cold storage have been made available in the market. Due to the excellent arrangement of packaging, the fish can be kept safe for one year.
He said the civic body looks after the maintenance work of the fish market here while the agriculture department does its funding and monitoring. Fisheries Director HN Dwivedi and Deputy Director of Fisheries Amarendra Kumar were also present along with the Cooperative Secretary in Agriculture Animal Husbandry of Jharkhand Government.