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HomePosts Tagged "Lakshadweep"
Acquaculture, Agribusiness, India, Industry Reports / Analysis

Urgent development of seed banks, processing units, and streamlined policies is recommended to support industry growth.

Primus Partners has released a comprehensive report titled “Seaweed Farming can touch a million lives”, highlighting the immense potential of seaweed farming to transform India’s coastal economy. Seaweed Farming has the potential to touch a million lives. In fact, the expert estimations are that given the right support to the ecosystem, 4,00,000 families or 1.6 million lives can be positively impacted by seaweed farming. This is a massive growth projection from the current 40,000+ families involved with this ecosystem.

 In terms of revenues, India’s seaweed sector, estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore in 2022, could surge to Rs 3,277 crore within the next 10 years. This growth is driven by rising demand across industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biomaterials and agriculture, alongside strong government support and increasing consumer interest in sustainable products.

India’s diverse coastal regions, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Goa, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, present untapped potential for largescale seaweed farming. With rising demand across industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture, seaweed farming is poised to become a key driver of India’s blue economy.

However, despite its potential, India currently contributes less than 1% to global seaweed production. The report identifies key challenges, including inconsistent seed quality, logistical bottlenecks, and limited market linkages, which hinder the sector’s growth.

Key Insights from the Report:

Economic Impact: Seaweed farming could generate significant revenue, with farmers earning up to Rs 13.28 lakh per hectare annually from high-value species like Kappaphycus alvarezii.

Challenges for Buyers: Buyers face issues such as inconsistent supply, poor logistics, and lack of contract farming policies, leading to a reliance on imported seaweed.

Farmer Challenges: Coastal farmers struggle with low awareness of farming techniques, environmental risks, and weak market linkages, limiting their adoption of seaweed farming.

Government Initiatives:

The Indian government has taken several steps to promote seaweed farming, including budget allocations under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and initiatives to provide Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) and Mudra Loans to farmers. However, the report emphasizes the need for a concrete roadmap focusing on:

Infrastructure Development: Establishing onshore and offshore seed banks, micropropagation facilities, and processing units near cultivation hubs.

Policy Support: Streamlining land leasing and contract farming policies to ensure stable incomes for farmers and reliable supply chains for buyers.

Market Access: Encouraging private investments through fiscal incentives and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to strengthen the seaweed value chain.

India’s leading seaweed buyers include large multinational corporations across the food, pharmaceutical, agriculture (bio-stimulants), and cosmetics industries, as well as small businesses focused on sustainable packaging, biofuels, and agriculture. Additionally, companies specialising in extracting agar, agarose, and carrageenan from red algae purchase significant quantities for use as thickeners and emulsifiers in the food industry.

Dr. Stefan Kraan, Chief Scientific Officer of TSC-Purple Pvt. Ltd., Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu said, “Lakshadweep has emerged as a key location. Typically, the final dry seaweed production per unit of seeds is 5X; however, some regions in Lakshadweep have shown extraordinary results of up to 15X”.

 Abhiram Seth, Managing Director of Aquaagri Processing Pvt. Ltd., emphasized the need to resolve concerns around Kappaphycus, stating, “If the perception issue of Kappaphycus can be solved, seaweed farming can provide livelihood to a million lives.”

Ramakrishnan M, MD, Primus Partners, Author of this report, commented, “Seaweed farming represents a tidal shift in sustainable agriculture, promising not only to bolster India’s blue economy but to fundamentally transform coastal livelihoods. By embracing this untapped resource, we are paving a path towards economic resilience and environmental stewardship for millions.”

The report calls for collaborative efforts between the government, private sector, and coastal communities to unlock the full potential of seaweed farming. By addressing challenges and implementing the recommended strategies, India can position itself as a global leader in the seaweed industry, driving sustainable economic growth and empowering coastal communities.

Urgent development of seed banks, processing units,

Acquaculture, India, Live Stock, R&D, Sustainability

The program generated nearly 3,000 man-days during the 8-month culture period, with an average daily earning of Rs 380

In a major achievement in fostering the efforts of the Government of India for the development of the seaweed enterprise as another driver of the economy of Lakshadweep, the commercial-scale pilot seaweed farming guided by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin has turned out to be a huge success in the large-scale pre-feasibility studies during 2022-23 season. The endeavour of the TSC-Purple Turtle Company, Tuticorin, aided by the ICAR-CMFRI and the Lakshadweep Administration has the potential to boost the economy of the archipelago and provide a new source of income for the local community, especially women.

The seaweed farming enterprise was initially launched in Chetlath, one of the smaller islands in Lakshadweep with a population of nearly 2,500. Six plots of 100 tube nets each were established by the end of September 2022, with a seed stock size of 3 tons per plot. The first harvest yielded nearly 15 tons in 45 days. The entire harvest was used to expand the farm horizontally, increasing the farm size to 30 plots with 3,000 net tubes by the end of November 2022. Subsequent harvests were done every 30-45 days, and the farm was further expanded in the same atoll as well as in the neighbouring atolls of Kiltan and Kadmat.

Women were the main workforce, and nearly 20 of them from different Self Help Groups were employed to carry out various farm activities such as preparing tube nets, seeding, and harvesting. The program generated nearly 3,000 man-days during the 8-month culture period, with an average daily earning of Rs 380.

The program generated nearly 3,000 man-days during

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, India, Live Stock, R&D, Sustainability

The endeavour has the potential to boost the economy of the archipelago and provide a new source of income for the local community

In a major achievement in fostering the efforts of the Government of India for the development of the seaweed enterprise as another driver of the economy of Lakshadweep, the commercial-scale pilot seaweed farming guided by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin has turned out to be a huge success in the large-scale pre-feasibility studies during 2022-23 season. The endeavour of the TSC-Purple Turtle Company, Tuticorin, aided by the ICAR-CMFRI and the Lakshadweep Administration has the potential to boost the economy of the archipelago and provide a new source of income for the local community, especially women.

The seaweed farming enterprise was initially launched in Chetlath, one of the smaller islands in Lakshadweep with a population of nearly 2,500. Six plots of 100 tube nets each were established by the end of September 2022, with a seed stock size of 3 tons per plot. The first harvest yielded nearly 15 tons in 45 days. The entire harvest was used to expand the farm horizontally, increasing the farm size to 30 plots with 3,000 net tubes by the end of November 2022. Subsequent harvests were done every 30-45 days, and the farm was further expanded in the same atoll as well as in the neighbouring atolls of Kiltan and Kadmat.

Women were the main workforce, and nearly 20 of them from different Self Help Groups were employed to carry out various farm activities such as preparing tube nets, seeding, and harvesting. The program generated nearly 3,000 man-days during the 8-month culture period, with an average daily earning of Rs 380.

The potential of seaweed cultivation in Lakshadweep has been known from the research and development programmes of the ICAR-CMFRI since August 2020 under the auspices of the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) of the ICAR, New Delhi. The enterprise is currently passing through the initial phase of exploration, capacity building, and foundation development. The ICAR-CMFRI, in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries, Lakshadweep, and private companies conducted farming trials to determine the growth performance of commercially important, indigenous species like Gracilaria edulis and Acanthophora spicifera in each island over the seasons. During this period, local men and women from many of the islands were trained in seaweed farming in large numbers. Periodic consultations were held with the prospective stakeholders, local farmers, the seaweed industry, researchers, and the Government, where the results and experiences were shared and the way forward was discussed. This in turn led to M/s TSC-Purple Turtle Company, Tuticorin carrying out the first-ever commercial-scale pilot farming in the island territory.

The ICAR-CMFRI suggests a two-pronged approach for developing the seaweed enterprise in the islands. Private companies farm commercially high-value indigenous species on their own using local people as their workforce, promoting the local societies or individuals to farm for companies on contract farming mode. This will provide an additional livelihood for the local community, especially the women. The Lakshadweep Administration is actively popularising the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Mudra Loans programme of the Government of India in Lakshadweep in the fisheries sector. This is expected to have a positive impact on the development of the seaweed enterprise.

The establishment of seaweed hatcheries, seed reserves, seaweed health monitoring facilities, and incubation facilities for mariculture, as well as the processing and value addition of seaweeds, are expected to contribute to the development of the seaweed enterprise. Research needs to be continued on standardising the protocols for newer species of seaweeds of varying utilities. The ICAR-CMFRI is working with the NITI Aayog as well as the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India, and the U.T of Lakshadweep Administration to generate scientific information, build skills, provide technical support services, and draw policy guides for sustainable and inclusive seaweed enterprise development in the island territory.

The endeavour has the potential to boost