GUWAHATI, Sept 1 - The Directorate of Fisheries, Assam, organized a two-day inception workshop under international organisation �WorldFish� at the conference hall of the National Institute of Rural Development, Khanapara here on August 27 and 28.
A total of 72 stakeholders from different fisheries organisations of the State attended the programme.
The WorldFish, also known as the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), is going to provide technical support to the Directorate of Fisheries in the implementation of the fisheries sub-component of the World Bank-financed Assam Agriculture and Rural Transformation Project (APART) for the next five years. The team leader of WorldFish Dr CV Mohan explained the technical aid aimed at enhancing the small-scale fisheries� contribution to food security in Assam. He also laid stress on increasing the availability, access and consumption of nutrient-rich safe fish, especially for women of reproductive age, infants and children.
Earlier, Padma Nath Das, Director of Fisheries, explained the purpose of the workshop and emphasised sensitization of all the project partners about APART. He also spoke briefly on the fisheries sub-component, including interventions, expected outputs, outcomes and impact of the components.
Dr KK Tamuli, Dean, College of Fisheries, Raha, explained the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in the implementation of various interventions.
In his inaugural speech, Vinod Seshan, State Project Director, ARIAS Society, expected considerable interactions and better understanding of baseline information and approaches to address the gaps, and advised all concerned to find out how the plan of work can be developed in the form of activities under different interventions as identified in the project document.
He also stressed development and promotion of climate-resilient technologies in support of sustainable aquaculture and small-scale fisheries in Assam.
Dr AK Chakraborty, Director of Research, AAU, Dr BK Bhattacharjya, Principal Scientist, ICAR Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, also stressed promotion of gender transformative approaches in support of sustainable aquaculture and beel fisheries.
After two days of extensive deliberation, the workshop identified the focal points for key interventions and finalised gender integration strategies.
Gagan Sarnia, Joint Director of Fisheries cum Nodal Officer, APART (Fishery), offered the vote of thanks.
The workshop was anchored by Dr Dhrubajyoti Sharma, Fishery Officer cum Alternate Nodal Officer, APART (Fishery), while Dr Sanjay Sarma, Marketing Inspector, acted as a coordinator. This was stated in a press release.
