The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) participated in the global fisheries conference with enthusiasm, which is going on from the 21st to the 22nd of November in Ahmedabad. The conference provides opportunities for Fisheries Cooperatives/FFPOs in the growth of the fisheries sector, says Twitter handle of the co-op lender.
Union Minister Parshottam Rupala inaugurated the Global Fisheries Conference India 2023 on the occasion of World Fisheries Day at Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Tuesday. Rupala released the “State Fishes of India Booklet” to encourage each state in India to adopt a fish and conserve its biodiversity.
In his address, Union Minister Parshottam Rupala welcomed all the guests and lauded the efforts for getting together diversified national and global experts and stakeholders on one platform on important matters of deliberation terming the event historic.
He encouraged that the series of state fish declarations by major states of UP, Maharashtra and Gujarat make fish rearing an interesting subject for the general public. He further hoped that new products and innovations for sustainable development will continue to grow.
At the event, the Inland Reservoir Lease Portal of Government of Gujarat was launched by Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel. The reservoir leasing will now be done online using the portal through e-tender/ e-auction for transparency in lease allocation procedure with priority given to Fisheries cooperatives, FFPO, SHGs etc. The Chief Minister also digitally launched Black spotted Crocker (commonly known as Ghol) as the State Fish of Gujarat.
The Chief Minister in his keynote address welcomed all guests and highlighted that as a leading fish production and exporting state in India, it is a great opportunity for Gujarat to host this mega event. Gujarat is a policy-vision state hence along with the existing progressive programs and initiatives, the Blue economy is being prioritised as a key focus area.
Takayuki Hagiwara, Head of Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in India congratulated all on the occasion of World Fisheries Day prioritising healthy ecosystem and healthy stocks as a key FAO strategy. He was confident that India could champion the Blue
Transformation initiatives as it has the potential to expand them sustainably and FAO gladly extends its support to India in its initiatives for innovative value chain development, reduction of illegal and unregulated fishing etc.
India hosted 10 foreign missions from the countries of France, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, Russia, Spain, Zimbabwe, Angola, Brazil and Greece along with International organisations namely Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Bay of
Bengal Program (BoBP), Marine Stewardship Council India (MSC), Ministers from the States/UTs of Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.
The delegations interacted with the exhibitors in the special pavilion that included demonstration of aquariums, Artificial reefs, Seaweed Cultivation, capture fisheries, marine cage culture, biofloc, RAS, fish feed, LPG converter kits, pearl extraction and nucleus
implantation, model of Setcom satellite terminals communication system, eco-friendly movable kiosks, multi-species hatchery etc.
On the occasion of the World Fisheries Day, awards were distributed by the dignitaries. Rupala also distributed Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) claim cheques (Rs 5 lakhs each) to beneficiaries /legal heirs from states of Odisha and Puducherry, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to eligible beneficiaries with the loan amount of Rs 35 thousand to Rs 3 lakhs for beneficiaries from Gujarat, Green Fuel conversion kit for sustainable development of the fisheries sector that included beneficiaries from Kerala and transponders for beneficiaries from Gujarat.
Is there any easy process to make FFPO? What are the guidelines if anyone can help?