The fishery sector has the potential to bring nutritional security to the poor and malnourished farming community members and can double their income, said India’s Union agriculture minister Sudarshan Bhagat.
The minister, who visited the two premier fisheries institutes, CMFRI and CIFT in Kochi on Friday, called for a fruitful blending of traditional knowledge with modern technologies to make the technology more cost-effective and sustainable.
During the interaction that followed, fishermen groups sought declaration of a fish famine package to compensate the losses following a sharp decline in availability of fishes for the last three years. They also demanded for a separate ministry at the Centre for fisheries.
The minister said that he would seek the opinion of the state government for successfully resolving the issues.
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