Prominent expert on fisheries and environment sciences, Umar Hayat has said that aquaculture is an emerging industry of Pakistan which can engage youth at different levels of new enterprise. He urged governments at both federal and provincial level to strengthen the sub-sector for its growth in production capacity through support to private sector in its endeavour to produce the quality human consumable products of fish and shrimp.
Presently, he said the extension services are rudimentary in fisheries and aquaculture sub-sector of agriculture which needs to be strengthened with qualified technical work force at provincial level and grass root level up to tehsil level in all the provinces of Pakistan. The step will create new posts of technical personnel of different regions and absorption of qualified unemployed youth of the country increasing their productivity.
Similarly, he also stressed need for the capacity building of the public sector as well as private sector entrepreneurs to support quality production of certified fish and shrimp for local and export market resulting in revenue to the public as well as private sector. The training centres curriculum has to be up graded to the market demand of international standards for provision of training to public servants and private sector entrepreneurs and business operators.
He said that flows of fisheries and aquaculture products depend on many factors, ranging from consumer preferences in different places, to the capacity and competitiveness of a given fisheries area to catch or produce, handle, process, distribute and market its products. The path that each fish will take to market will, in turn, determine the added value generated by that fish and who retains the greatest proportion of this value.
The shift of focus of present Government Policy from consumptive economy to export let development economy has necessitated to bring paradigm shift in the Fisheries Sub Sector of Agriculture activities. The private sector has to be given its due importance for enhancement of its fish production of local consumption and surplus for export.
In Punjab province GIFT tilapia production is taking its roots in the aquaculture sector and its production is on the increase. The production has to be increased with support for supply chain to the fish processing units at Karachi so that the fish processing units could utilise their capacity and employ ideal unemployed work force and increase export.
Similarly, the hatcheries and trout production units of Gilgit-Baltistan also need to be technologically upgraded to enable the Fisheries Department to cater to the need of private sector. The Fisheries Department (Extension Services) also needs to be strengthened for provision of services to the private sector. The public and private sectors technological un-gradation can create jobs for the unemployed youth of the rural areas.
Omar Hayat, who has more than 30-year experience of working in fisheries sector, said that Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry can be the pivot of new interventions of private sector Growth. Trout Fish is a lucrative consumable commodity within Pakistan and for export to China.
He said that Gilgit-Baltistan has tremendous potential to produce Trout Fish to the 5000 Metric tonnes valued on export market $2500 million per annum. This will boost the local economies of Gilgit-Baltistan. This scenario can be applied to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir for production of Trout Fish.
He proposed that the development of fisheries sector can play the role of catalyst for creation of job opportunities in both public and private sectors, saying the export of trout fish, GIFT tilapia fish can earn handsome foreign exchange for the country.
This export led development of aquaculture will provide support to our local economies from day one as the construction phase will provide employment to skilled and unskilled labour with utilisation of other construction material like cement, iron bars, iron sheets, hardware material with transport benefiting from these activities.
The Government will be getting income from the income tax and other indirect taxes. With the operation of these new Aquaculture faculties local skilled and unskilled work force with be engaged full time in hilly remote areas of the country. The output will be increase in GNP and GDP along with income to the owners and if quantum is increased to exportable level it will bring precious foreign exchange to the exchequer.
He further proposed the inclusion of "Export Led Development of Aquaculture (Trout and Tilapia) in Pakistan" in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and SMEDA should be tasked to work for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises of Trout, Tilapia throughout the country with technical support of the Fisheries Department in the provinces and Science and Technology Department of the Provinces.
The project should include Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Trout in the first phase with pilot support for expansion of Tilapia Aquaculture Farms with linkage from Tilapia Aquaculture Farms to Processing Units at Karachi. This will create new jobs and provide sustainable income to the Aqua culturists and bring new investment to this activity throughout Pakistan.
The country, he said needs technological innovation and its adoption (in breeding, feeds, production systems, disease control and environmental management. The modernisation of aquaculture production of trout fish needs to be aligned to market forces of the importing countries. This will provide support to increase our exports resulting job creation in the sector for unemployed youth force of the country.
SMEDA has the outlook for this new initiative of providing support to the private sector in certification programmes, purchasing standards, codes of conduct, advocacy and service delivery improvement in Provencal Fisheries Departments.