Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India recently released a booklet offering basic information on ”Seaweed Farming Entrepreneurship by Cooperatives” at an event in New Delhi.
Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Managing Director, NCDC and Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India were present on the occasion, says a press release.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, “recognizing the potential of the sector, the government has developed a roadmap to establish a seaweed processing industry and matching seaweed cultivation.
India is aiming to increase seaweed production from the current production levels of 2500 tons to 11.5 lakh tons in the next five years. In fact, this can be achieved by using just 1% of India’s 8000-kilometer-long coastline.”
The webinar was jointly organized by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, LINAC-NCDC, Department of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific (NEDAC), Bangkok, a regional forum established by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organizations (UN-FAO).
International experts and other participants from across the world deliberated on the challenges in developing entrepreneurship among cooperatives in the sector and possible solutions to those challenges, said the statement.
The members from cooperative societies, entrepreneurs, policy makers, researchers and academicians, other stakeholders from seaweed industry were among those who participated in the workshop.
It aimed to contribute to the agenda of promoting entrepreneurship in seaweed business, especially through cooperatives, and enhancing the socio-economic wellbeing of seaweed farmers and other stakeholders in the country.
It focused on the Asia-Pacific region and outlined the business opportunities in seaweed farming and its ability to enhance income of seaweed farmers, especially women, the statement added.