Guwahati, Jan. 17: The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) is going for mobile fish retail marketing for the first time in the Northeast.
Fish farmers in Assam are being provided two-wheelers with ice boxes to reach distant markets quickly and to provide consumers with fish in a hygienic condition at their doorstep.
The NFDB provided an assistance of Rs 14.683 lakh recently towards procurement of 110 two-wheelers with insulated ice-box for fishermen of Sone Beel Fishermen Co-operative Society Ltd in Karimganj district of Assam. The Northeast regional office of the NFDB, which operates under the Union ministry of agriculture, was set up last year.
The Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd (AFDC) has implemented the scheme with financial support from the State Bank of India towards the non-subsidy portion as bank loan. Each fisherman has contributed Rs 10,000 as margin money.
'Because of such assistance to farmers, the involvement of middlemen is being reduced. Fishermen are realising a better price for their catch and are able to reach markets/consumers at a greater speed and at a greater distance. Consumers are receiving fish in a better and hygienic condition at their homes. This is ultimately helping the fishing community to sustain their livelihoods,' Ramendra Chandra Barman, officer-in-charge of the NFDB regional centre in Guwahati, told The Telegraph.
Barman said through this scheme, fishermen of Sone Beel will be able to sell fish in nearby markets and on doorsteps, which would fetch additional income.
Barman said apart from two-wheelers, two four-wheelers have also been sanctioned with 55 per cent NFDB subsidy for proper marketing of fish at Sone Beel. The vehicles will be procured shortly by the Sone Beel Fishermen Cooperative Society under the supervision of the AFDC.
He said a farmer can earn a minimum of Rs 15,000 per month from which deduction of monthly instalments towards loan repayment as well as maintenance and other expenditures can be managed.
Ratabari legislator Kripa Nath Mallah, who was present at the two-wheeler distribution function, said the vehicles would help Sone Beel fish farmers to earn more by selling fresh fish in nearby Karimganj, Hailakandi and Silchar towns as well as nearby states.
