Tripartite Agreement Signed For Promotion Of Climate-Resilient Aquaculture In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture (OIIPCRA), Director of Fisheries and WorldFish on Thursday signed a tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to promote climate-resilient aquaculture practices in the state.

Director of Fisheries Smrutiranjan Pradhan; Director, OIIPCRA Rashmiranjan Nayak and WorrlFish, India, Team Head Arun Padhiyar signed the MoA. Additional chief secretary, Department of Water Resources (DoWR) Anu Garg, Principal Secretary, Fisheries Suresh Kumar Vashisth and Principal Secretary, A&FE Arabinda Kumar Padhee were present.

Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture (OIIPCRA) is being implemented in 15 districts with support from the World Bank through Odisha Community Tank Development & Management Society (OCTDMS), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), with the objective to intensify and diversify agricultural production and enhance climate resilience.

Besides improving irrigation through 538 tanks, the project is taking up cross-sectoral convergence of water, agriculture, horticulture and fisheries sectors to benefit farmers through increased quality of irrigation service; average yields; marketable outputs; diversified incomes; climate resilience etc.

In fisheries sector, the activities are being taken up under the aquaculture production sub-component area in promoting climate-resilient aquaculture practices in 263 MIPs to increase the ability of small-scale farmers and promotion of species diversification through polyculture.

This project has helped in Capacity building of stakeholders for enhancing knowledge on aquatic food production system and to strengthen community-based institutional architecture and promotion of intensive aquaculture through adoption of new technologies such as bio- floc fish farming technology.

The MoA will support implementation of different activities and induce good practices.