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Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday said the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance government was putting in all the efforts to promote fish farming in the state. He also said the Blue Revolution could transform the destiny of farmers.
The chief minister further said to encourage the farming, the Punjab government had recently constituted Fisheries Board in the state. He stated a special thrust was being laid on imparting training to fish farmers from reputed institutes, both within the country and abroad. Citing the examples, Badal said while some farmers were sent to Bhubaneswar for training, another delegation of farmers visited China to acquaint themselves with the techniques of fish farming.
Badal said the state government was giving 40 per cent subsidy for setting up fish farms in the state. He also said the state government was giving 90 per cent subsidy to set up 100-acre fish farm in water-logged areas of the state as a pilot project to promote this in these areas. Badal said currently six villages have been selected under this scheme, out of which four were in Sri Muktsar Sahib district and two in Fazilka district.
The chief minister said due to state's stupendous efforts, Punjab was leading the country in fresh water fish productivity.
However, he said the state government was aiming to increase this production as fish farmers in China were getting a record production of 32-33 tonnes fish a hectare, as compared with merely six tonnes a hectare in Punjab. Badal said as there was a lot of scope to enhance this production, the state government would wholeheartedly working towards this objective.
