Set up Indian Council for Fisheries to tap sector's full potential: Panel

A parliamentary standing committee on animal husbandry has recommended setting up a separate research council for the fisheries sector, called the Indian Council for Fishery and Aquaculture Research (ICFAR), under the department of fisheries, given the huge potential of the sector and its growing contribution to agriculture and national gross value added (GVA).

 

It has also  pointed out that the increase in milk prices is less than the average rate of food inflation and asked the government to examine the mechanism of price determination by milk procurement agencies to ensure better returns to farmers. 

The Council on Fisheries as per the Panel would not only facilitate focussed and in-depth research, but also address the challenges faced by the fishery sector, the committee noted in a report tabled in Parliament today.

 

Presently, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) handles all matters related to the sector.

 

India is the third-largest fish-producing country in the world, accounting for 8 per cent of global production and contributing about 1.09 per cent to the country’s GVA and over 6.724 per cent to agricultural GVA. A few years ago, the contribution of fisheries to agricultural GVA in India was just around 4 per cent.

 

Meanwhile, the committee in its report said that a panel had been constituted under the chairmanship of Sanjiv Balyan, the then minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, to recommend the establishment of a research council to address research in fisheries and veterinary science.

 

“The committee would, therefore, like to be apprised of the outcome of the committee constituted for setting up a research council,” the report said.

 

The committee also recommended that the minimum legal mesh size regulation, as declared by states like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa to prevent the catching of juvenile and small fish in trawls, should also be implemented by other states to protect fish breeds.

 

The department of fisheries should also coordinate with all states and union territories (UTs) and explore the possibility of providing interest-free loans to farmers under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC), as has been done by some states by extending an additional 4 per cent interest subvention and rebate over and above the existing 3 per cent, so that the effective interest rate under KCC becomes zero.