Excelsior Correspondent
ANANTNAG, Oct 10: Union Joint Secretary Fisheries, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Sagar Mehra, conducted an extensive tour of Anantnag to review status of implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in the district.
He was accompanied by Joint Director Fisheries (South), A M Tak besides other district officers and officials of Fisheries Department.
During his field tour, he visited dozens of private trout farming units and hatcheries and had a detailed discussion with the farmers regarding their progress and performance. He lauded the progress achieved by the farmers in their respective units and appreciated their self inventive innovative ways towards enhanced fish production.
The farmers apprised the Union Joint Secretary of their issues and concerns including some demands like establishment of fish clinical laboratory at district headquarters and Fish Processing Unit to encounter the disease outbreak and take away their fish produce to longer distances without any damage and spoilage.
Union Joint Secretary assured the farmers that all their issues would be looked into and sorted out in a phased manner. He exhorted upon them to optimally utilize available funds for increasing their fish production in the district.
Joint Director (South) elaborately explained about various measures being taken up by the department to encourage more and more youth towards taking up fish farming as a lucrative vocation. He further apprised that the department is contemplating a comprehensive plan to create an opportunity of outside market availability for the produce of fish farmers for better return to their crop.
Union Joint Secretary applauded the role of the department in promoting fish farming in the district and asked the officers to work hard towards taking the level of private fish farming to the highest possible stage. He also asked the department to create backward and forward linkages and cold chain for market accessibility so that it comes up as an industry.
He emphasized the farmers and the Department to encourage modern techniques of Fish Farming like RAS to increase the production to be in a position to export trout outside country in addition to its supply within the country.
He also advised the farmer to take advantage of PMMSY scheme, PMFME Scheme and Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) to further raise their living standards.
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