Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget announcements for shrimp farming have brought fresh hopes to afarmers in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, a region that holds a significant share of the national shrimp production.
The Union Budget, presented on Tuesday, proposed the establishment of a network of nucleus breeding centres for shrimp broodstocks, funding for shrimp farming, and measures to facilitate exports through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Sitharaman said that the government has reduced the basic customs duty on shrimp to 5 per cent. Additionally, the government will be providing finance for shrimp farming and marketing, she added.
This initiative is expected to boost the shrimp farming industry and its export potential. Farmers view the announcements as a move that addresses their long-pending demands and concerns.
“In this budget, we can say that this time we’re very happy. In the last five years, there were times when we farmers suffered. We had to take out loans and face difficulties as there was no help from the centre or the state. Today, from Prakasam to Nellore, all coastal areas, and all aqua farmers, we’re very happy about the response,” said an elated aqua farmer, Uppuchuri Gopal Krishna, to India Today.
Farmer leader K Srinivas echoed the same sentiment, noting that farmers have been waiting for this kind of special allotment for years.
“The market has been difficult for a few years, which can be seen in the declining attitude of farmers in the region. For several years, we’ve been patiently waiting to see if there would be any special category allotment for us in the budget. Today’s announcement is a joyous one for us,” he said. He hopes there will be more budgetary allocations in the future.
In Andhra Pradesh, shrimp farming has transformed the local economy in the coastal districts of East and West Godavari, parts of Krishna, and Nellore, offering farmers an alternative to traditional paddy and other products.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, shrimp farms in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district use modern methods to produce about 40,000 tonnes of shrimp annually for exports, which brings in around Rs 10,000 crore.
All the farms are located near the Srikakulam sea coast under high bio-secured conditions. The district contributes a major share to India’s shrimp exports to other countries.
