Financing and Marketing Management

5.5. Area of financing in fisheries sector

Unit 5 - Role of NABARD in fisheries development

5.4. Area of financing in fisheries sector
NABARD promotes fisheries through 3 means

• Refinancing support
• Introduction of new technologies
• Research and Development

Refinancing support
Gives financial assistance indirectly through Cooperatives, RRBs, CBs and others. Apart from this NBARD also extends guidance to banks and entrepreneurs in formulating and implementing projects. It supplies model schemes to banks, conducts appraisal, monitoring and evaluation studies of projects.
Finance from NABARD for marine fishery sector includes:
Marine sectors:
Traditional crafts and gear-catamarans, canoes, plank built boats with nets.
Mechanized vessels like-Trawlers, Gill netters, Purse seiners, Long liners and Double rig trawlers,
Motorization- replacement of engines.
Inland sectors
Traditional boats and nets, Carp hatchery, Composite fish farming, Integrated fish farming, (Paddy cum fish culture, Poultry cum fish culture, Piggery cum fish culture, Dairy cum fish farming, Duck cum fish culture, Plantation horticulture cum fish farming, Air breathing fish culture) Fish seed rearing, Red tilapia culture, Running water fish culture, Semi-intensive carp culture, Freshwater prawn farming, Ornamental fish breeding and rearing, Fresh water pearl culture and Cage culture.
Coastal aquaculture: Shrimp hatchery, Shrimp farming, Brackish water fish farming, Mussel culture, Marine pearl culture, Clams culture, Mud crab culture and Cage culture.
Others
Feed mills, Processing plants, IQF plants, Surimi production, Rural infrastructure-fishing jetties.
Future possibilities
Finfish culture, Bivalve culture and Sea weed culture in coastal waters.
NABARD has been reviewing its policies from time to time keeping in view the national priorities. In early eighties major share of bank finance was allotted to marine capture fisheries but later the attention was shifted to freshwater aquaculture and setting up of hatcheries. Now with the advancement of technical knowledge and standardization of technologies newer areas like shrimp farming, integrated fish culture projects, Mari culture etc., are being brought under the purview of institutional finance.
Production of new technologies for which finance may be needed at individual fishermen or at farmers’ level to adopt the following production technologies related to fishery and allied sectors.
Introduction of new technologies in fisheries development in association with other developmental agencies such as state government, ICAR institutes, Agricultural Universities. Some of them are as follows:
Paddy cum fish culture, wheat cum fish culture, running water fish culture, intensive carp culture with the use of aerators, use of treated domestic and industrial effluent for fish culture, giant freshwater prawn culture and hatcheries, super intensive tilapia culture, use of partial re-circulating system, Ornamental fish breeding, Value addition through processing techniques like individual quick freezing, Cage culture in open seas, Pearl oyster culture, Sewage fed fisheries and Mussel culture.
Research and Development
To acquire new insights it is imperative that in depth studies and research are carried out. NABARD being development-oriented organization has a special fund called R&D fund for supporting year marked research projects. The main objectives of this fund is
• To promote research in areas those are of primary interest to the national bank
• To support research and action oriented projects in the area of rural development
• To assist and strengthen the efforts in project preparation, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation.
During 1998-99 the Bank had allotted Rs 55 lakhs in grants for research on standardization and commercialization of technologies for the fisheries sector. NABARD also organizes seminars, conferences and workshops for discussing strategies of fisheries development. These national conferences are attended by scientists, bankers and executives, who are all brought on common platform so that bottle necks in implementation of fishery projects can be removed and new approaches to the developments can be worked out.