India Taps Tech-Savvy Fish Farmers to Accelerate Smart Aquaculture Push

Shri Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), highlighted how early adopters are uniquely positioned to move beyond individual success and catalyse cluster-based growth, support technology diffusion, and validate best practices at scale.

Signalling a sharper shift toward technology-led growth in India’s blue economy, the Government of India on 28 January 2026 convened a high-level virtual interaction with Champion Fish Farmers from across the country to accelerate the adoption of scientific, modern, and data-driven aquaculture practices.

The interaction was chaired by Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Union Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAH&D), and brought together 59 Champion Fish Farmers, including a Padma Shri awardee, alongside representatives from the Rajya Sabha, ICAR, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), State Fisheries Departments, and senior officials of the Government of India.

The session positioned Champion Fish Farmers as frontline innovators and brand ambassadors of India’s fisheries transformation—demonstrating scalable models built on Recirculatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS), Biofloc technology, precision farming, and infrastructure-led growth. Their on-ground experience is increasingly shaping policy, technology validation, and capacity building under flagship initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Blue Revolution, FIDF, and PM Matsya Kisan Samridhi Saha Yojana (PMMKSSY).

Addressing the farmers, Dr Likhi applauded their proactive adoption of scientific practices and emphasized their role in mentoring emerging farmers, strengthening value chains, and driving grassroots capacity building. He reaffirmed that the Government—working closely with State Governments and ICAR institutions—will continue to back innovation, infrastructure, and skills development to future-proof the sector.

Technology, clusters, and scale emerged as central themes. Shri Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), highlighted how early adopters are uniquely positioned to move beyond individual success and catalyse cluster-based growth, support technology diffusion, and validate best practices at scale.

From a research and innovation perspective, Dr. J.K. Jena, Deputy Director General, ICAR, underscored the importance of modern aquaculture technologies, disease surveillance, and diversification to improve productivity and farmer incomes, committing ICAR’s continued support through targeted training and capacity-building programmes.

Policy insights were further enriched by Shri B. Masthan Rao, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), who emphasised strengthening shrimp production systems and enhancing India’s export competitiveness through quality and traceability.

Champion Fish Farmers, including Padma Shri awardee Shri Sultan Singh (Haryana), provided candid field-level feedback—flagging persistent challenges around seed availability, high feed and energy costs, storage infrastructure gaps, and market linkages, particularly in remote, hilly, and border regions. Farmers strongly advocated for solar-powered solutions, RAS-based seed storage, integrated fish farming, alternative feed formulations, and precision, eco-friendly production models focused on quality over volume.

Concluding the session, Dr. Bijay Kumar Behera, Chief Executive, NFDB, called on Champion Fish Farmers to play a catalytic role in scaling up the 34 fisheries production and processing clusters notified by the Government, stressing cooperative-led capacity building as a pillar of sustainable sector growth.

India’s fisheries sector is rapidly evolving into a technology-driven growth engine, creating opportunities for aquaculture IoT, renewable energy solutions, precision feeding systems, disease analytics, cold-chain tech, and digital market platforms.

Call to Action: Agri-tech startups, climate-tech firms, and aquaculture solution providers are encouraged to collaborate with Champion Fish Farmers and government agencies as early partners—piloting scalable technologies that can unlock productivity, sustainability, and export-ready growth in one of the world’s fastest-expanding blue economies.