Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare visits ICAR-CIFT

5th May 2017, Cochin

Shri Sudarshan Bhagat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, visited ICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Technology at Cochin, Kerala to review the activities of the institute today.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Visits ICAR-CIFT Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Visits ICAR-CIFT

Shri Sudarshan Bhagat said that the fishery sector has a lot of potential to bring nutritional security among the poor and malnourished farm families and doubling the farm income. Citing the encouraging fish production potential of the country to the tune of more than 150 lakh tonnes with an annual growth trend of more than 6 %; he urged the scientists that it is the right time to link the research to the end users, which can realize the cherished dream of Hon’ble Prime Minister to bring Blue Revolution in the country. Shri Bhagat also urged for a fruitful blending of traditional knowledge with modern technologies to make the technology more cost effective and sustainable. He also interacted with stakeholders like fishermen, women SHG members and fish processors regarding the problems in harvesting and post harvesting in fishery.  

During his visit to different laboratories, Shri Bhagat expressed his satisfaction over the work done by ICAR-CIFT not only in fish harvesting and post harvesting but also in value added fish product development, quality maintenance and safety standards development in addressing the emerging issues in the sector. 

On this occasion, he also released some newly developed Fish products viz.  Collagen Peptide Biscuits, Seaweed nutri drink, Calcium and Iron fortified Fish Soup Powder and an E-Book entitled “Mechanised Fishing Vessels of India”.

Dr. C. N. Ravishankar, Director, ICAR-CIFT briefed about significant achievements and recent activities of the Institute in fish harvesting and post-harvesting sectors.

Seaweed Nutri drink is rich in fucoidan polysaccharides which has been developed from seaweeds  with the unique health benefits of anticancer and antioxidant effects and Calcium and Iron fortified Fish Soup Powder can be taken up as a nutritional additive to our daily diet that helps in maintaining a healthy immune system and aids in energy production in case of undernourished and underweight children.

(Source: ICAR- Central Institute of Fisheries Technology at Cochin)