Three-day Sea Food Festival begins
PNS | VIJAYAWADA
Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Sidiri Appalaraju has said that for the welfare of fishermen, the ruling YSRCP government led by CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been taking steps to increase the consumption of local fish products and provide alternative marketing facilities. He inaugurated the three-day Sea Food Festival organised at A Convention Centre in Vijayawada as a knowledge partner of Bhumi Organics under the auspices of the Department of Fisheries on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Appalaraju revealed that Andhra Pradesh ranks first in the country with an annual production of 50 lakh tonnes of fish products. He said that we are at the top in the production of fish and prawns, but we are lagging behind in consumption. The government has taken the issue of domestic marketing by organising sea food festivals across the State with the knowledge partner of Bhumi Organics. The minister said that arrangements were being made to organise seafood festivals in cities like Visakhapatnam, Kurnool and Nellore soon.
He said that the Fisheries Department was taking steps to take the slogan Fish Andhra – Fit Andhra to every doorstep. He said that the Central government was also following the model of architecture infrastructure taken by AP. He said that there were a good number of seafood consumers in AP and to this extent, aqua hubs and spokes policy were being promoted to increase local consumption with the ‘Fish Andhra’ brand.
He said that steps had been taken to establish an aqua hub centre in each district. He said that this aqua hub would be supported in all ways. While 1,400 outlets have already been set up, another 2,000 outlets will be made available soon. He said that as part of that, seafood festivals were being organised with the aim of encouraging enthusiasts to set up more hubs and outlets and to increase awareness among consumers. He said that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government effectively faced two disasters related to exports in the aqua sector, said the minister.
Fisheries Commissioner K Kannababu said that as per the instructions of the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, there was a need to expand domestic consumption of fish products in the State and steps had been taken in that direction. He said that an action plan was being formulated and implemented in order to further benefit the fishermen and farmers of the State. He said that there was a need to promote the brand Fish Andhra more to increase the consumption of aqua products.
Bhumi Organics director Raghuram said that fish was rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which were good for human health. He said that the consumption of fish was much better than other meats, so his company was working hard to make healthy food available to consumers.
