The fisheries and aquaculture sector has raised concern for not including it in incentives and investments in line with agriculture proposals in the Budget.
Fisheries and aquaculture is an important sector for food production in the country as it provides nutritional security to nation’s food basket, contributes to agro exports and provides employment to 14 million people, Kamlesh Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, West Coast Group, said.
The Centre should note that aquaculture too faces challenges similar to agriculture – be it the climate, quantity and quality of harvest or price that is often determined by market forces.
Today, fisheries or aquaculture do not enjoy benefits of agriculture, even though the sectors come under the purview of Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF), under the auspice of Ministry of Agriculture. This needs to be corrected, he added.