Government should take some concrete measures for livestock and fisheries in the Budget: Industry
PASHUDHAN PRAHAREE NETWORK, 31st JAN ,2020
Firstly, for the poultry sector, the charge for growing a chick, in case of contract farming should be increased from Rs 6 to Rs 12 per chick. This will help the farmers make some profit for their efforts. Farmers in the poultry and aquaculture sector should be given access to capital. Moreover , loans given to aqua farmers should be considered as secured loans as there is guaranteed returns in fish farming, said Amit Saraogi, managing director, Anmol Feeds.
The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana which was announced in the last Union budget is yet to get approval from the cabinet. As the scheme aims to boost fish and aquatic products through appropriate policy, marketing and infrastructure support, it will be highly beneficial for the aqua farmers if the scheme gets implemented. The budget should take concrete steps to ensure the scheme gets cabinet approval at the earliest, he added.
The livestock sector has been incurring losses from the past year due to shortage of raw materials, especially maize and soya. The government should allow import of genetically modified maize and soya for feed manufacturers which will help to bring down the price of the raw materials considerably and in order make feed more affordable to farmers, added Saraogi.
Also, it will be useful, if under the Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme, a waiver is given to shrimp/fish feed plants on retrospective basis against the import of equipment.
