The Punjab government is encouraging the youth and women of the state to adopt fisheries as an occupation to financially empower themselves. Elementary training in fish and shrimp farming is also being imparted free of cost every month besides giving them high-quality fish seed at subsidized rates.
Punjab Fisheries Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that the government is providing financial assistance also to those interested in fish farming. To bring the Blue Revolution to the state, he urged the state farmers also to adopt the allied sector to increase their income.
The state has about 44,000 acres under fish farming and over 1.81 lakh tonne of fish production is being obtained annually.
The state government’s fish seed farms are producing over 14 crore high-quality fish seeds annually, which are being provided to farmers at subsidised rates.
He said 16 government fish seed farms, 11 fish feed mills and seven laboratories are dedicated to the fish farmers and 14.74 crore fish seedlings have been produced up to December 2024, which was 13.90 crore in 2023.
The minister said the state’s youth and women have been encouraged to adopt fisheries as an occupation and a financial benefit of 40 to 60 per cent of a unit cost has been extended for adopting various projects.
Financial assistance of around Rs 27 crore has been granted to more than 500 beneficiaries under various projects including bringing new areas under fish and shrimp farming, establishing of Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS), biofloc culture system, purchasing vehicles for the transport of fish and its products, fish feed mill, fish kiosk, etc.
Elementary training in fish and shrimp farming is also being imparted free of cost every month. Technical assistance for pond preparation, seed stocking, fish rearing and harvesting is also being provided, he added.
To bring the blue revolution in the state, Khudian said the department has adopted modern techniques and ramped up infrastructure to enhance fish production and aquaculture development within the state, aiming to boost the income of farmers