July 15, 2021
The government of Andhra Pradesh intends to establish 100 aqua centres. Under phase 1, 25 aqua hubs, one in each Parliamentary constituency region, have already been sanctioned.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently chaired a review meeting at the Tadepalli camp office to assess the development of several projects under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. The CM asked staff in the fisheries department to work on increasing fish consumption inside the state.
Only 10% of AP production is now used for human consumption. While addressing the issue to the CM, AP State Fisheries Commissioner K. Kanna Babu stated that there should be more promotion of domestic marketing of fish and fish related produce with the goal of promoting it for the welfare of fishermen and fish farmers in terms of getting a remunerative price for the product and producing quality certified fish produce in a hygienically packed manner.
The CM also stated that consumption of seafood goods will only be possible by developing the local market, which will assist these farmers, and that the items should be available to the public at reasonable costs.
The Andhra Pradesh government intends to establish 100 aqua hubs to promote aquaculture, freshwater fish farming, aqua product bazaars, and storage and marketing facilities. Out of which under phase 1, 25 aqua hubs, one in each Parliamentary constituency regions have already been sanctioned. There are another 20 aqua farmer societies that have been recognized.
Aside from the aqua labs, CM emphasized the importance of expediting development on Integrated Aqua Labs. These aqua labs will offer soil and water testing, feed and seed analyses, disease diagnosis, antibiotic residues, and pesticide detection.
The AP government intends to develop these labs in 35 places across nine coastal districts. 14 of the 35 labs have been launched, and 21 more will be inaugurated in November. The CM further highlighted the importance of connecting these labs to RBKs.
Further assessing the performance of the Animal Husbandry Department, the Chief Minister emphasised the importance of expediting efforts to establish veterinary dispensaries. According to CM, the department should continue to work on determining which type of veterinary dispensary should be established in which zone.
‘There should be logic in deciding which dispensaries should be established at the village and constituency levels. All of these dispensaries must be better mapped. Following the concept of the “family doctor,” an equally comprehensive system for the animals should be installed. ‘With the policy of establishing two primary health care centres (PHCs), four doctors, and two ambulances in each Mandal, we are making progress in the field of public health. A similar protocol should be developed for better animal care.