Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, yesterday launched the Online Market Place feature "Aqua Bazar" in the “MatsyaSetu” mobile app during the 9^th general body meeting of the National Fisheries Development Board. The app was developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The online marketplace will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seeds, feed, medicines, etc., and services required for fish culture as well as farmers can also list their table-size fish for sale. The marketplace aims to connect all stakeholders in the aquaculture sector.

While addressing the gathering, Shri ParshottamRupala, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, stated that capacity building of fish farmers should be given top priority. Intensive training courses should be organized and exposure visits should be organized for the farmers.

Shri L. Murugan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry in his address told that the Government for the first time under the AzadikaAmritMahotsav has taken up promotion of Startup by the entrepreneurs to achieve the targeted fish production.

Shri Sanjeev Balyan, Minister of State for Fisheries Animal Husbandry stressed that the newer generation entrepreneurs should come forward to fulfill the growing fish demand in the country.

Reliable information about the timely availability of quality inputs in the right place is very much crucial for the success and development of freshwater aquaculture in the country. At times, fish farmers do face problems in sourcing critical, quality inputs such as fish seeds, feed, feed ingredients, fertilizers, nutraceuticals, additives, medicines, etc., during the crop season. Any delay in obtaining these inputs would cause significant consequences in the productivity of their fish culture operation. Sometimes, farmers also look for services such as farm construction, rental services, manpower for harvesting, etc. Similarly, at certain times, fish farmers do face difficulties in selling their produce in the market or they only rely upon a limited number of buyers/agents to procure their fish produced.

To address the problem, ICAR-CIFA and NFDB have developed this digital platform to bring all the stakeholders to one place. Through this platform, any registered vendor can list their input materials. The listed items will be displayed in the marketplace based on geographical proximity to the app user. The listings are categorized into the following major categories; fish seeds, input materials, services, jobs, and table fish. Every listing will contain detailed information about the product, price, available quantity, supply area, etc. along with the seller’s contact details. The needy farmers/stakeholders can contact the vendors and fulfill their procurements.

 The feature also allows the fish farmers to list their grown table-size fish/fish seeds for sale with an option to indicate the date of availability along with the price offer. Interested fish buyers will contact the farmers and offer their prices. It will certainly help the farmers to receive more business enquiries from buyers or buyer agents who procure fish, paving the way for increased awareness about the market situation and better price realization of farmers' produce. 

Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member, NitiAyog, Fisheries Ministers from different state governments, Secretaries of many union ministries, Dr. J.K.Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries), ICAR, Mr. J.N.Swain, Secretary, General Body members, Department of Fisheries, Government of India and senior officers of the Department of Fisheries were present.

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NG/IG