The Centre has created a 7,522.48 crore package for infrastructure development of the fisheries sector, especially in coastal states, in line with the objective of doubling farmers’ incomes, Union fisheries and animal husbandry minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday .
The fund will mainly be used by the coastal states to invest in infrastructure facilities for deep-sea fishing, post-harvesting, cage culture and export promotion of fish and marine products.
As part of the initiative, the first tripartite memorandum of agreement has been signed between the department of fisheries, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the Tamil Nadu government for marine infrastructure development of farmers under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund (FIDF). The fund will provide subsidised finance to eligible farmer collectives, cooperatives, individuals and marine entrepreneurs. The National Cooperatives Development Corporation, Nabard and all scheduled banks will act as nodal entities for providing “concessional finance” under the fund, according to a government note.
