ICAR-CCARI and NCDC jointly organized one-day training on “Seaweed Business by FFPO’S”

ICAR-CCARI, Goa, along with NCDC, Pune organized a one-day workshop programme on “Seaweed Business by FFPO’S” at Sal Training Hall KVK-ICAR Goa on 8th February, 2023. Hon. Minister for Cooperation, Govt. of Goa Shri Subhash A. Shirodkar was Chief Guest for the program. Dr. Parveen Kumar, Director, ICAR – CCARI Goa and Shri Dattaraj Dessai, RCS, Govt. of Goa also attended the program. A total of 130 participants attended the seaweed training programme including farmers, entrepreneurs and students. Hon. Minister for Cooperation, Govt. of Goa, Shri Subhash A. Shirodkar emphasized the role of cooperatives in development of local communities and promoting the seaweed aquaculture as entrepreneurship development with climate smart technologies saving nature and natural resources for future generation. Dr. Parveen Kumar, Director, ICAR highlighted the role of ICAR in agriculture development and importance of seaweed aquaculture along with its uses and economic value, which can be useful in the sustainable development of fisheries livelihood in Goa and coastal region. He assured full technical support from the institute for seaweed culture development activities in the State of Goa and coastal region. Col. Vinit Narayan, regional Director, NCDC, Pune explained the motto of organizing this workshop.

   Technical session covered the series of lectures on seaweed aquaculture delivered by three experts. Shri. Trivesh Mayekar, Scientist delivered lecture on Seaweed cultivation, culture techniques and recent technological advances, the status of seaweed aquaculture, its Global and Indian scenario, applications of seaweed, the import and export scenario and the commercially important seaweed species. Dr. Manohar Cathrine Sumathi, Principal Scientist, NIO delivered lecture on Post-harvest practices and processing of seaweed products and challenges of seaweed production, suitable sites for seaweed culture in Goa. She also showed pictorial information about different experiments being carried out to obtain better yield of seaweeds. Along with the culture and practical knowledge, she highlighted the research gaps and challenges that need to solved. The last session was taken by Dr. Ketan Chaudhari, Associate Professor, College of Fisheries, Ratnagiri on Financial viability and economics of seaweed business, PMMSY support and NCDC schemes for the promotion of cooperative business. The lecture was followed by the discussion session. The participants responded satisfactorily with the in-depth knowledge gained through the training program. Shri. Trivesh Mayekar, Scientist, Dr. Monika Singh, SMS and Dr. Sreekanth GB, Scientist along with NCDC team co-ordinated the training programme. Shri Vishwajeet Prajapati provided technical support during the training.