The Fisheries Division of NCDC organised a workshop for National, State and District-level Fisheries Federations to strengthen coordination and collaboration across different tiers of the fisheries cooperative sector.

The workshop was chaired by Pankaj Bansal, Managing Director, NCDC, who emphasised the need to strengthen linkages between Fisheries Federations and Primary Fisheries Cooperative Societies.

He highlighted the importance of building the capacities of primary societies in marketing, branding, packaging, value addition and market access, enabling them to enhance the commercial potential of their products and access wider markets. He further stressed stronger collaboration among cooperatives and federations to create an integrated and market-oriented fisheries cooperative ecosystem.

Dr. Bijay Kumar Behera, Chief Executive, NFDB, highlighted the importance of greater coordination and convergence among fisheries cooperatives, FFPOs and Fisheries Federations at different levels.

He encouraged fisheries cooperatives to leverage collective strength and Government initiatives to participate more effectively in the growing Blue Economy. He also highlighted opportunities available under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), FIDF, Entrepreneuship Model etc particularly in emerging areas such as seaweed farming, fisheries infrastructure, value-chain development and entrepreneurship, to create sustainable livelihood and income opportunities for fishers.

The workshop was enriched by the participation of experts and practitioners from diverse domains of the fisheries sector, including representatives from the Department of Fisheries, Government of India; Small Green Aquaculture Private Limited, Hyderabad; AFCOF, Andhra Pradesh; NCEL; and Mahavir Macchimar Sahakari Mandali Ltd., Gujarat.