{"id":40057,"date":"2020-04-19T16:46:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T11:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/?p=40057"},"modified":"2020-04-19T16:46:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T11:46:44","slug":"potential-of-aquaculture-production-in-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/article\/40057","title":{"rendered":"AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY PAKISTAN, Fish is Future Protein."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Shahzad Naveed Jadoon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan being endowed with enormous natural resources,\nfresh and marine water as well as brackish water resources, holds immense\npotential for aquaculture. The over-catch and depletion of the wild fisheries\nhas provoked serious efforts to alternate it with more sustainable aquaculture.\nFish and shrimp along with other aquaculture spp. are among premium commodities\nof the world and make up 6.7% of the total animal protein consumed by human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquaculture is booming around the globe. Whereas, Pakistan\naquaculture is mostly of traditional manner, limited to carps with\nunderdeveloped supply chain and poor local market. However, an advancement been\nseen by the private sector and a little by government, yet unfortunate to tap\ninternational market because of the scattered local market regime and lack of\npolicy, standards and certification and skillful human resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A multi-challenged industry at present needs collaboration\nof the public-private sector for creating an immediate line of action.\nAssessing the current scenario of COVID-19 and its impact on the industry, time\nbased needs are highlighted in this paper and recommendations are presented to\nbetter cope with this situation and thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existing situation highly likely to reset the market\ndynamics and transform the food attitude of the consumer with more\nconsciousness towards nutrition, health, quality and safety for which\naquaculture foreseen to be the future. The time is demanding change, embrace\nit, turn it to an opportunity and gear our industry to meet the local as well\nas international protein demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a hope in despair, all we have to do is to set the\nsail swiftly. Future aquaculture is holding huge opportunities in term of\nquality protein, livelihood, decent jobs, effective utilization of barren\nlands, economy and export revenues etc. thus will also reduce threat of food\nsecurity and safety. To better grab these opportunities, establishment of\nONELINK is to be primarily done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OVERVIEW OF SECTOR <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite of blessed with natural water resources, refer to as\nagriculture land, having an extended coastline of 1050 Km and more, Pakistan\naquaculture has often found getting little attention and has not tapped to its\ntrue potential. Majority proportion is from capture fisheries due to limited culture,\nfor which Sindh is the HUB. Except the fact that over 70% of the world-wild\nstock has been depleted, however, Pakistan fisheries and aquaculture largely\ndependent on wild catch. As it has also been overfished, initiatives are in\nloop to divide the pressure on capture fisheries and shift interest to\naquaculture for not only meeting the protein demand of the population, saving\nthe habitat and diversity though creating decent livelihood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan aquaculture is in infancy and growing slowly at a\nrate of 1.5%. Mostly semi-intensive system being practiced and seen limited to\ncarp culture because of the local consumer preference for species like Rohu\n(Labeo rohita) and Thaila (Catla catla). Culture systems are evolving so is the\nchoice for the fish species like tilapia, catfish, and snakehead etc. Among\ncold water species rear in northern areas, rainbow trout (Salmo trutta and\nOncorhynchus mykiss) enjoys premium price because of high demand by the\ntourists. There are other species (tor tor, seenghala etc.) that are of\nsignificant potential for culture in Pakistan. At present, there are 13000 Fish\nFarms with supply from couple of hatcheries and feed mills, to processing\nplants. An underdeveloped supply chain, value addition and markets. From cage,\nrecirculating to intensive (IPRS) culture, a range has been seen adopted by\nboth govt. and private sector to maximize the production with efficient\nsystems. But the story still needs to refine lot before it get shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In light of trade value, Pakistan has exported a volume of\n130,830 MT of worth US$ 293million for year 2019, which was entirely comprised\nof marine catch, making a little in international aquaculture trade market\nvalue of 231.6 billion. Aquaculture production for year 2019 reported was\n151000 ton (Economic Survey of Pakistan 2018-19). It contributes to 0.4% of GDP\n(Gross domestic product).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trends in local fish consumptions are devastating, which is\nonly 2kg per capita as compared to that of 20.3 kg per capita of the world. It\nis direct employment source for almost four lakh people and indirectly the\nnumber gets double.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHALLENGES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Pakistan has a diverse fish fauna, but the\naquaculture has seen limited to few species which include exotic species as\nwell. The supply of seed depends on the native countries. To address this,\nlocal hatcheries were built and made operational to provide the seed to the\nfarmer but those are still questionable for quality of strain.  Major challenges arise often when it comes to\nlocal adaptations, disease, early nutrition, and fish welfare. Unfortunately,\nour research has overlapped a lot and no customized studies are there surfacing\nto better support the facts improving and adapting the local genetic diversity\nto the best of farmer, people and country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right genetics should follow by right nutrition for the\nsuccess of aquaculture production. When it comes to nutrition, it is well\nrecognized that feed component contribute 70% of the operational cost, which is\nhuge. At present, a very few farmers in Pakistan have switched from traditional\nto commercial feed. Credit driven market, High input cost, lack of specie\nspecific nutritional product range and local case studies demonstrating feed\nefficiencies, cost benefit margins and ROI, makes it hard for the feed millers\nto firm their feet on the farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aquaculture management is fairly new for the farmers as most\nof them are from 60% rural population which are unaware of the scarcity issue,\nimportance of monitoring, biosecurity, keeping database and inventories.\nMoreover, they are practicing outdated traditional approaches that limits their\nefficiency and expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, we lag far behind in fish processing because of\nmultiple reasons that includes high processing unit cost, unskillful human\nresource, and local consumption pattern that shows that the local population is\nyet not ready for the processed fish products. Less mechanization, another\nfactor which raise concern about steady supply and safety, those with advance\nunits are entirely dedicated to wild catch. Lack of standards and certification\nfurther limits, our little processed products to enter the international\nmarket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rudimentary supply chain, value addition, unskillful human\nresource are limiting factor to this industry\u2019s growth, expansion and\nperformance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the current scenario, where the world\u2019s different sectors\nare facing an adverse pandemic effect, aquaculture is no exception. With\nmovement restriction, closure of ports, restaurants and dines, the world\naquaculture industry has shattered greatly whereas in Pakistan the industry\nsuffering a little as it\u2019s in rearing phase. Although, supply of seed to the\nfarm and feed ingredients to feed mill cum feed to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

farm are a challenge but as the volume is not too big so,\nthat doesn\u2019t cause much. It serve as a blessing in disguise for Pakistan\naquaculture to turn it to an opportunity and prepare to tap the local and\ninternational markets in this time window. Government has already allocated a\nset budget for lifting and developing this sector. It\u2019s the right time to\ndevise a strategic plan and start working on it as when the market gets stable,\nour industry will also be effective and operating at its full potential with\nquality products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessing the needs of the hour, following funneled down\ncategories require an immediate address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short term needs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Online ABCD programs: Get reach and connect to maximum\nfarmers, pool and educate via online platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Zoning and get database align.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Strict implementation of biosecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Build standards for all operations and end products\n(International guidelines and standards).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medium term needs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Build prosumer behavior survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Identify and mark cluster: make sure to facilitate\nextension services at farm door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Revision of production protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Development of supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Farm auditing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long term needs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Highlight importance of using specie specific and additive\nproducts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Strengthen research and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Human resource management and employments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Supply Chain and Value Addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Conduct regular surveys- evaluate prosumer behavior and\ntrends.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Break seasonality myth through consumer education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Accessibility \u2013 Food on Wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Food Safety and Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Capacitate the industry by devising a fisheries policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Facilitate producer, processor and exporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out the needs and analyzing the potential of\naquaculture, it has foreseen that how well it can revolutionize the livings as\nwell as the economy of the country. Aquaculture is future in Pakistan as of number\nof reasons: advantageous for effective use of resources (barren lands), a\ndirect livelihood for many alleviating poverty and addressing malnutrition and\nstunting, potentiated commodity to generate export revenue and nonetheless, a\ngateway for jobs and developing entrepreneurs. All this further gets supported\nby the Government friendly initiatives in loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In view of the above challenges and aquaculture potential,\nbelow are some recommendations for reframing the industry to grow and perform\nexponentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Aquaculture is the fastest growing and lucrative food\nsector in the world. This sector has to be responsibly owned by the government\nunder the umbrella of agriculture and should be equally enabled by reducing\nelectricity bills, exclusion of income tax and wave off of duties and taxes on\ninputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– For aquaculture advancement, Farmers and stakeholders\nshould be maximum facilitated to strengthen this sector by exempting import\nduties of the machinery and equipment (Feed & Seed). In this regard, Policy\nand Aqua Feed Act should be framed prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Aquaculture Farmer Association is the need of the hour\nwhich will not only club aquaculture scattered regime but will also be working\nfor cumulative benefit of farmer and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Local genetic diversity should be taken into account and\nin-line with research to deal with the challenges related to availability and\nquality of seed, local adaptation, early mortalities and disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Aquaculture practices need to be modernized therefore\nguidelines plus technical support should reach the farmers, hatchery owners and\nprocessors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Standardization and certification are vital elements for\naquaculture product to get entry in the international market. Local regulatory\nand quality control further aid this. Inspections should be carry out in order\nto identify the quality chunks and further set as model examples for other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– From seed to food, development of the supply chain with\ndirect regional fish markets and access to farmers, will further ease and\ndouble the efficiency and also enable better food safety and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– To ensure the availability of the fish around the year,\nFish processing plants should be subsidized for which Fish processing incentive\numbrella programs should be launched to maximum encourage the processors. This\nwill not only improve the local fish preference but will also have noticeable\nimpact on exports.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Public-Private linkages should be promoted and strengthen\nas working in collaboration will fuel the growth of the industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Local consumer behavior and trends impede aquaculture to\nfetch good market. To break this pattern, prosumer behavior study survey should\nbe conducted to fabricate aquaculture into consumer oriented products and\ndevelop product line accordingly. Likewise, consumer awareness programs should\nbe design and spread the words via TV, radio, airtime and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Without skillful human resource, aquaculture industry\nbarely be drive to its potential. Capacity building of human resource should be\nprioritize and programs like ABCD- Agribusiness Coaching and Development, Aqua\nincubation centers, Master trainers and diploma\/short courses should be\noffered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Nevertheless, monitoring and evaluation will flourish\ngrowth curve and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 ( Dr. Shahzad Naveed Jadoon is Free Lance\nWriter, Expert Poultry sector and social worker. sjadoon@alltech.com
\n03000700007
\nwww.alltech.com) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Shahzad Naveed Jadoon Pakistan being endowed with enormous natural resources, fresh and marine water as well as brackish water resources, holds immense potential for aquaculture. The over-catch and depletion of the wild fisheries has provoked serious efforts to alternate it with more sustainable aquaculture. Fish and shrimp along with other aquaculture spp. are among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zameenihaqaiq.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}