Bhubaneswar: Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, Thursday, distributed appointment letters to the 65 newly recruited assistant fisheries officers (AFOs) at Krushi Odisha Conference Hall here on the fourth day of Krushi Odisha Mahotsav.
Sahoo said that in fisheries sector, the state has enough opportunities for fish farmers to earn well. The state has 480 km coastline, 6.86 lakh hectares of fresh water and 4.18 lakh hectares of salt water.
The aim should be to use more and more scientific technique in fish farming and focus on exporting more in fisheries sector for more foreign currency. In last 20 years, the state’s fish production has increased from 2.59 lakh MT to 8.16 lakh MT.
Similarly, fish exports reached Rs 3,247 crore from Rs 379 crore. According to the minister, over 14.64 lakh people in Odisha are involved in fisheries.
Therefore, fisheries officers should focus on boosting those people’s income. He had earlier said that the need for more and more farm schools for familiarizing the farmers with new styles of farming.
PNN