Date:18/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/18/stories/2006101810320700.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Society for promoting sustainable farm practices

G.V.Ramana Rao

Its office will be in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA : The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), in association with the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), Bangkok, is establishing an independent society to promote sustainable and environmental friendly farming practices.

The society, called the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA), will have its registration office in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and branches in other States.

Deputy director of the MPEDA and head of the organisation in the State S.Anis will be the its Chief Executive Officer.

The first governing council meeting of the NaCSA will be held at Kakinada on October 19.

The NACA, an agency affiliated to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has been working with MPEDA for the past four years.

The NaCSA will organise prawn farmers into primary aquaculture societies (PASs) and provide technical services to them.

The MPEDA will initially give each PAS a sum of Rs. 5 lakh to hire a trained technician, set up a laboratory and establish a common auction hall and other facilities.

Each PAS can have 20 to 80 members belonging to the same village or creek. There are over one lakh farmers cultivating prawns in 96,000 hectares (water-spread area of 77,500 hectares) in Andhra Pradesh.

Ninety per cent of the aqua farmers are small farmers with holdings of less than two hectares.