BHUBANESWAR: Mud crab farmers of the state have a reason to cheer. The Odisha government has decided to set up the state’s first mud crab hatchery at Paradip to bring down the dependence of farmers on the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) in Chennai.
The hatchery with a production capacity of 5 lakh seeds would be established at a cost of Rs 2.81 crore under the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) project supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). A tripartite agreement among the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department’s ECRICC-GCF, fisheries directorate and RGCA will be signed soon to facilitate the implementation.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Wednesday approved a proposal for signing of the tripartite agreement. While ECRICC-GCF will provide the financial support, RGCA will extend technical expertise to set up the hatchery. The minister said the new unit will bring transformative change in the fortunes of mud crab farmers and reduce their dependence on the RGCA, saving time and money significantly.
“The hatchery will also elevate the economic standing of crab farmers and foster increased interest in mud crab farming. It would be strengthened further to help the state emerge as a vibrant hub of mud crab seed production,” he said.
ECRICC-GCF is already supporting several projects in coastal districts including Puri, Ganjam, Balasore and Kendrapara. Initiatives include seagrass and saltmarsh restoration with IIT-Bhubaneswar’s support and scientific mud crab farming with high returns and export potential. Farmers have also been supported for seaweed cultivation and SRI-based training.