Explained: How India Seeks To Promote Aquaculture Industry

To promote the growth of the country's aquaculture industry, the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshotam Rupala launched three national flagship programmes at the ICAR-CIBA campus in Chennai.

The programmes are the Genetic Improvement Programme of Indian White Shrimp, the National Surveillance Programme on Fish Diseases, and the launching of an aquaculture insurance product. He also laid the foundation stone for the Genetic Improvement Facility.

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These three flagship programs aim to promote the growth of India's aquaculture industry by improving indigenous species, providing insurance coverage to farmers, and strengthening the disease surveillance system. These programs are expected to boost the income of shrimp farmers, reduce their financial burden, and contribute to the overall growth of the country's economy.

The first program is the Genetic Improvement Programme of Indian White Shrimp, which aims to reduce the country's dependence on the exotic Specific Pathogen-Free stock of Pacific white shrimp species (Penaeus vannamei).

To promote indigenous species, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has taken up the genetic improvement program of Indian white shrimp, P. indicus, as a national priority under the Make in India flagship program.

This program aims to genetically improve the Indian white shrimp species to make it commercially viable, disease-resistant, and productive.

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The second program is the Shrimp Crop Insurance product developed by ICAR-CIBA. This product charges a differential premium based on the location and requirements of the individual farmer from 3.7% to 7.7% of input costs. In the event of a total crop loss, i.e., more than 70% crop loss, farmers will be compensated to the tune of 80% loss of input cost.

This program provides insurance to shrimp farmers against the risks of natural calamities, diseases, and other uncertainties. The insurance scheme helps in reducing the financial burden on farmers and encourages them to invest more in shrimp farming.

The third program is the National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD), which aims to strengthen the disease surveillance system among farmers. The government of India has implemented the NSPAAD since 2013 with a major emphasis on strengthening the farmer-based disease surveillance system.

According to PIB, the results of the first phase of the program proved the reduction in revenue losses due to diseases and increased farmers’ income, and exports.

The government has sanctioned the NSPAAD: Phase-II under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana program. It will be implemented pan-India, and it aims to strengthen the disease surveillance system among farmers, enhance disease diagnostics and laboratory infrastructure, and develop contingency plans for disease outbreaks.

India is a significant player in the global fish and seafood industry, ranking as the third-largest fish-producing country with a production of 14.73 million metric tonnes. Additionally, India is one of the largest exporters of farmed shrimp, with approximately 7 lakh tonnes of shrimp exported annually, states PIB report.

In 2020, PM Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for five years (2020-25), which also aims at increasing the production of shrimp and achieve a goal of producing 1.4 million tonnes by 2024.

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According to the Hindu Businessline, the government also reduced the import duty on certain input products for shrimp aquaculture from 30 % to 10 % to benefit farmers. Reports state, "the market attained a volume of 0.71 million tonnes in 2022 and it will grow at a CAGR of 9.5 per cent and reach 1.23 million tonnes by 2026."

According to The Hindu, the US and China are the biggest importers of Indian Shrimp. India exported 8,93,644 tonnes of shrimp to the US in 2021, marking a 20 per cent growth.

India's major shrimp-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Significantly, over 95% of the cultured shrimp produced is exported.

Despite its success, the Indian fish and seafood industry faces significant challenges, particularly in disease management. The country loses approximately 7200 crores (over 1 billion USD) each year due to diseases in the industry.

Early detection and effective management of diseases are considered crucial for controlling their spread and minimizing financial losses.

The farmed shrimp sector is particularly important for India's seafood exports, contributing around 70% of the country's seafood exports worth Rs. 42000 crores (over 5.5 billion USD).

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However, this sector mostly depends on one exotic species, the Specific Pathogen Free stock of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). Relying heavily on a single species for production poses significant risks, including disease outbreaks, which could lead to huge losses for the industry.

Moreover, shrimp farming requires substantial investments in farming infrastructure, and around two lakh farm families are directly involved in the industry, with approximately ten lakh families indirectly associated with it. A disease outbreak could have severe consequences, not only for the industry but also for the livelihoods of those involved, states the PIB report.

Therefore, there is a need for the Indian fish and seafood industry to focus on disease management strategies, including early detection and effective control measures.

Diversifying the species used in shrimp farming could also help mitigate the risks associated with relying heavily on a single species.

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