NCDC’s efforts to help set up Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs) in the country received a shot in the arm when on Tuesday, Union Minister Pashottam Rupala released a handbook on the subject.
Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India released a first-of-its-kind handbook on formation and promotion of Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs) under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a release from the NCDC read.
Sundeep Kumar Nayak, Managing Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India were also present on the occasion.
“We have been holding various awareness and sensitization programs for the promotion of FFPOs in the past several months. The NCDC has pioneered registration of FFPO cooperatives in the country”, said Nayak.
The Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research and Development and Regional Training Centre of NCDC have conducted a series of awareness and training programs for fisher-men and women across the country at state and district levels during the current year, said Nayak.
Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary said the Department of Fisheries has kept a target of forming 500 FFPOs in the country, of which 50 FFPOs will be formed by the NCDC in the first year under the Cooperative Societies Act.
In his speech Rupala shared that PMMSY, a flagship scheme for fishers provides financial and technical assistance for setting up FFPOs to economically empower the fish farmers and help enhance their bargaining power to make them Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The handbook provides a road map for setting up of a FFPO as a cooperative and spells out steps to be taken by Community Based Business Organization engaged by NCDC.