The government of India’s Odisha state has launched a new scheme with the aim of increasing fish production.
Under the Fish Pond Yojana scheme, the state government will invest INR 960 million (USD 14.9 million, EUR 12.7 million), to add more than 2,200 hectares of additional aquaculture farming space in the state. Specifically, Odisha is looking at enhancing river-ranching opportunities and initiating regular stock enhancement programs to maximize the productivity of its reservoirs.
The plan is part of a larger goal of doubling the income of the state’s farmers by 2022, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said. Under the new scheme, the state will provide a 50 percent subsidy to farmers who want to take up aquaculture farming, the Press Trust of India reported.
In addition to its aquaculture programs, the state is working to increase its marine fish production – which is currently hovering between 120,000 and 130,000 metric tons – by further exploiting deep-sea fishery resources.
Odisha's total fish production was an estimated 500,000 metric tons in 2016-17, almost twice the 260,000 metric tons it produced in 2000. The state has set a target of 715,000 metric tons of fish production by 2020.
Patnaik specifically called on two groups, women self-help groups (WSHGs) and fisheries cooperatives, to take larger leadership roles in growing the state’s production levels.
