Speaking on the occasion of workshop organized by FISHCOFED at NCUI in Delhi on Thursday Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture said that cooperatives offer huge scope for reorganizing this sector.
The fishermen cooperatives can enable them to develop the skill required and also any kind of financial support to them by framing fishermen cooperatives in the country said the Chief Guest The cooperatives should be answerable to the members as well as to the people for which they are working.
The fishermen are facing the problem of the marketing of the fishes as there is a substantial gap between what fishermen receives for its produce and what the other agencies receive from the final consumer. The cooperatives should develop effective network of marketing system so that the exploitation of fisherman is checked, said the Minister.
We also need to increase social security system for the fishermen and their families so that fishing sector can be developed and revitalized, he said. He further urged fishery cooperatives and specially the FISHCOPFED to provide the capacity building to the fishery cooperatives in the country and said his Government can provide all help and support in this regard.
The National Workshop was organized on Net-working of Fish Marketing & Achievement on Insurance of Fishers by National Federation of Fishery Cooperatives in collaboration with National Cooperative Union of India and Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.
Shri Naeem Ahmed Ansari, Chairman, FISHCOPFED, the National apex level Fishery Cooperative said that FISHCOPFED has kept the target of covering the accidental Insurance Policy for 33 lakhs fishermen for the year 2010-11.
He further said that through its strong base of 22 state level fishery and women cooperative union and 133 district level fishery cooperatives and 20000 primary level fishery cooperatives, it is possible to achieve this target and also provide human resource development to this sector by the FISHCOPFED.
He requested the Minister to provide necessary land at Kerala so that the activities of the fishery cooperatives can be further strengthen in the Southern Costal States.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Ajay Srivastava, Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India said that the present Government is giving due priority to the Fishery Cooperatives through its various livelihood schemes and social security system.
Shri C.R. Murthy, Executive Director, National Fishery Development Board said that their Board is committed for all round development of fishermen and fishery sector in the country and making the Blue Revolution successful and increasing the production and productivity of the fishery in the country and utilizing the existing potential of both inland and marine fishery resources.
Shri B.K. Mishra, Managing Director, FISHCOPFED proposed vote of thanks and said that their federation is working on Net-working and developing the data base for all the 20000 primary level fishery cooperatives in the country and requested the Minister to provide small shops as infrastructure for marketing of fishery in the line of milk booth in Delhi.