Special news: Andhra Pradesh’s election winds water on the hopes of shrimp farmers of Gujarat
Ahmedabad, 10 April (Hindustan). The shrimp farmers of Gujarat are facing one trouble after another. After the Corona epidemic, the business that somehow stood up has been hit once again. Assembly elections are due in Andhra Pradesh by the middle of next year and the government has reduced the power tariff for shrimp farmers there from Rs 4 to Rs 1.50. Worried about this, the shrimp farmers of Gujarat have also demanded the Gujarat government to reduce the electricity rate from Rs.8 to Rs.3 to Rs.4 per unit. Prawn growers have written a letter in this regard to the officials of the Fisheries Department, expressing their grief.
From shrimp production to exports, the concern of the shrimp producing farmers of Gujarat has increased. It is now challenging for brackish water shrimp farmers to stay competitive with costly seed, feed and expensive electricity. In Andhra Pradesh, which challenged Gujarat in shrimp production, the government there, while throwing the election dice, gave relief to the shrimp producing farmers. There the electricity rate was reduced from Rs 4 to Rs 1.50. Due to this, there has been a thunderbolt on the shrimp producers of South Gujarat including Gujarat.
The Gujarat Aquaculture Association, an organization of prawn producers, has written a letter to the authorities requesting it. The association says that the shrimp producers of Gujarat were already facing many challenges, now they will have to face a new challenge.
this will be the effect
In 100 to 150 villages of South Gujarat, people there produce prawns. By plotting the barren land on the sea shore, the government has provided land to the prawn growers. About 1900 farmers are involved in shrimp production on 25000 acres of land in Gujarat. Due to this 1.5 lakh people got employment. Labor accounts for 10 percent of the shrimp production worth about Rs 2,000 crore. Means the workers get about 200 crore rupees. It is considered a major source of employment.
Producers say that 5 to 6 units are spent in producing one kg of shrimp. Due to this, while the cost to the farmers of Andhra Pradesh will be Rs 7 to 8, the farmers of Gujarat will have to spend Rs 35. Apart from this, their seeds and food are also cheap due to the hatchery being in Andhra Pradesh.
Our demand has been unheard for four-five years
Dr. Manoj Sharma of Gujarat Aquaculture Association Surat says that the barren land of Gujarat’s sea coast is spewing gold through shrimp production. Crores of rupees are exported annually, thousands of people have got employment. Due to the neglect of the government, we are going backward in the country. Our input cost is increasing because electricity is cheaper in Andhra. We are falling behind in the competition. For the last 4-5 years, we have been continuously drawing the attention of the government towards this, but we are not being listened to.
