The Indian government is preparing an export-oriented fisheries policy with a special emphasis on inland fishery, which has a share of only 2 per cent in India’s overall export in the sector, said Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh. Addressing the foundation day event of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Singh asked ICAR to take its technologies to the doorstep of every fisherman so that real economic benefits reach fish farmers.
Policy Focus on Inland Fishery
Singh identified transport as a major bottleneck for connecting inland fisheries with export hubs. He asked ICAR to study whether using drones for transporting products and inputs for farming could be a solution. Officials cited an instance of shrimp farming in Haryana’s Sirsa and other districts, where seeds are procured from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, then picked up from the Delhi airport and transported directly to fish ponds.
Export Performance and Free Trade Agreements
According to Singh, fishery export in 2025-26 jumped by about Rs 10,000 crore to more than Rs 72,000 crore. He credited India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with several countries for achieving that success. The minister assured that his ministry would release more funds to ICAR for research projects, provided the technologies reach farmers.
ICAR’s Role and Future Targets
Speaking at the same event, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan set targets for ICAR scientists to achieve in the next two years, leading up to ICAR’s 100th Foundation Day in 2028. The targets include:
- Development of at least 100 climate-smart villages by the centenary.
- Deployment of 100 young scientists to work on frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, gene editing, and climate-smart agriculture.
- Each of ICAR’s 113 institutes and affiliated agricultural universities to develop one innovation with demonstrable national impact.
- Each ICAR institution to adopt one aspirational district and build a replicable model of agricultural transformation there.
Chouhan also urged ICAR to intensify efforts to raise productivity in pulses and oilseeds without relying on genetically modified (GM) technology, noting that India continues to rely heavily on imports. He pointed out that low productivity of 5 quintals per acre in tur, urad, and moong is a major challenge and asked ICAR Director General M L Jat to find a solution. Regarding fertiliser self-sufficiency, Chouhan said he would take up Jat’s suggestions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Crop Diversification and Long-Term Roadmap
ICAR Director General M L Jat said ICAR would push for crop diversification under a roadmap for 2047, prepared in consultation with NITI Aayog. Under this plan, area under rice and wheat would be reduced, while maize, nutritional cereals, pulses, and horticulture crops would be expanded. To implement demand-driven research, ICAR has formed 52 task teams across its divisions and institutions, each working under a defined theory of change framework.
Jat also said ICAR is working toward a target of 2.1 billion tonnes of agriculture production by 2047, up from the current 1.3 billion tonnes. Similarly, horticulture production would be raised to 797 million tonnes from 369.7 million tonnes, and milk production targets were also mentioned (though the full target was not specified in the provided source).
The export-oriented fisheries policy is expected to be released soon, aiming to boost inland fishery’s contribution to India’s seafood exports by addressing infrastructure gaps and leveraging technology.
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