A one-day review meeting-cum-workshop on the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was organised by the National Fisheries Development Board on Tuesday, at Radisson Blu to promote wider participation of entrepreneurs and fisheries stakeholders in fisheries infrastructure projects.
The event was held in association with the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala and in collaboration with key financial institutions including the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, National Cooperative Development Corporation and several scheduled banks.
The programme also featured the distribution of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) to fishermen to encourage sustainable fishing practices and marine conservation.
Union Minister of State George Kurian, who attended as the chief guest, emphasised the need to strengthen fisheries infrastructure, enhance responsible fishing practices and accelerate implementation of FIDF projects to boost investment, employment and environmental sustainability in the sector.
During the workshop, Bijay Kumar Behera, Chief Executive of NFDB, presented an overview of FIDF and outlined the board’s initiatives to expand fisheries infrastructure, facilitate institutional credit and integrate modern technologies to improve the fisheries value chain and enhance fishermen livelihoods.