Demand Of Fish For Odisha To Reach 7 Lakh MT By 2036

Bhubaneswar: Informing that the population of Odisha is likely to reach 5.77 crores by 2036, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said the demand of fish by 2036 will be about 7 lakh MT against the current production is 5.2 lakh MT.

“In the year 2036, the state will commemorate 100 years of its formation. The population of our state is likely to reach 5.77 crores by 2036 and we have to keep in view the nutritional needs of the growing population. The demand of fish by 2036 will be about 7 lakh MT against the current production is 5.2 lakh MT,” said the Chief Minister inaugurating a workshop on “Growth & Export Potentials of Marine Product”.

He said the government has notified Odisha Fisheries Policy, 2015 for holistic development of fisheries sector. A farmer friendly brackish water land leasing policy is also in place, he added.

“The per capita annual fish consumption in our state is around 11.06 kg. This needs to be enhanced to 15 kgs by 2020. We have to increase fish production through horizontal expansion by new area development and vertical expansion by the introduction of new technologies in the sector,” said Patnaik.

He informed that the state government has signed a MoA with World Fish which is an international organization aiming to bring in comprehensive development in the field.

The state has 32,000 hectares of brackish water resources out of which only 9000 hectares are now under cultivation, said the Chief Minister.

“We must have an ambitious plan to accelerate the exports from the present level of rupees two thousand crores to rupees twenty thousand crores in next 5 years. We have got twenty-four thousand hectares of government land suitable for brackish water aquaculture and all Collectors must lease out land to eligible farmers on a priority basis as per the policy,” said Patnaik.