To harness the fishing opportunities of the State’s resources, the Government has envisioned setting up a dedicated Fish University for greater innovations and wider applications.
This was discussed in a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi at the State Secretariat here on Thursday wherein Fisheries & Animal Resource Development Secretary Bishnupada Sethi presented a proposal for the necessity for such a university.
Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan wanted to conceptualise the university as a thematic and outcome-oriented institution from the beginning instead of planning it as a generic and theoretical university. He added that it should be developed as a state-of-the-art university focusing on direct linkage with farmers and field applications.
The Chief Secretary directed the department to focus on short and medium-term strategies for boosting the farmers’ income in coming three to five years. He also asked to department to develop inland fishery as another source of income for large numbers of farmers’ families.
The Chief Secretary further advised the department to list out the fingerling producers and mobilise them as change-agents.
Balakrishnan advised to provide extension services through them. The department was also advised to carry forward the fishing activities in convergence with the Panchayati Raj Department.
Sethi mentioned that Odisha presently contributes to about 5 per cent of the country’s fish production and about 17 per cent of the value of Indian maritime product export.
Freshwater resource is estimated at around 6.79 lakh hectare comprising 1.28 lakh hectare of ponds, 2 lakh hectare of reservoirs, 1.80 lakh hectare of lakes and swamps and 1.71 lakh hectare of rivers and canals. Brackish water resource is around 4.18 lakh hectare. With these resources, inland fishery and fresh water aquaculture can be undedrtaken to new heights through scientific fishery, Sethi said.
He further mentioned that the proposed university would cater to the basic requirements like delivering professional courses, creating technical manpower, innovating technical knowhow, skilling the farmers through direct exposure and designing the best practices. The university would create a technical and scientific network connecting individual farmers, organisations and institutes.