Govt to set up lab in collaboration with Arizona University to boost export value of marine catch
Kolkata: The state government is going to set up a world class diagnostic laboratory in the state in collaboration with the University of Arizona in USA, to increase the export value of various marine produce.
The project has been initiated by the state Fisheries department following the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had laid enormous emphasis on the rise of income for fishermen across the state.
The proposed diagnostic laboratory will help the fish farmers meet certain international parameters which are required for export. Various countries including USA which import marine products from Bengal and also from the rest of the country mainly stress on the quality check.
If the products produced by the farmers in Bengal do not have the prerequisite qualities, they cannot be exported to USA and other foreign countries.
The state government is therefore keen on setting up the world class lab as a platform for the farming population of Bengal. The lab will not only help the farmers to check the quality of fishes which they are interested to export, but will also provide guidelines on how to indulge in fish farming adhering to international parameters.
The lab may also lay out a framework for the farmers to check contamination of their produce. If the farmers take help of the lab, their produce will be more acceptable in the international markets.
The farmers will also be able to eliminate the risk factors while producing the varied ranges of fishes which have an international market. The state Fisheries department will implement the project. The works have already been initiated in this regard.
"Shrimps, prawns and crabs from Bengal are presently exported to the USA. Around 40 percent of the total import in marine produce by USA last year had been from India. The fishermen from our state can use the lab for increasing the export value of their produce. All the advanced equipments which are used for examining international parameters will be installed in our lab. The main motto of the Mamata Banerjee government is to ensure that farmers involved in fish production can multiply their income by selling their produce in the international markets," said Pradip Kumar Mazumdar, Advisor to the Chief Minister on Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
Mazumdar also pointed out that Bengal has resources and the farmers have to exploit them. There are many waterbodies in the state and the coastal regions in Bengal are also huge. If fish cultivation can be developed in a more scientific way, the amount of exports from the state will go up.
