Trout farming project worth Rs2.35 billion inaugurated

ISLAMABAD: Under the prime minister’s agriculture emergency programme, the government on Thursday launched Rs2.355 billion trout farming project in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan inaugurated this project

The task force for the development of fisheries sector after consultation with provinces formulated a programme which comprises three projects namely; shrimp farming, cage culture/ cage farming and trout fish farming in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“Pakistan is blessed with vast reservoirs of fresh waters in the form of rivers, canals and lakes, therefore there is ample opportunity to develop aqua culture/fish farming, but unfortunately the area has so far been severely neglected,” the minister said.

He also lamented that per capita annual fish consumption was only two kilograms in Pakistan compared to 20kg in the world. Pakistan was the only country where the 1,100 km coastline was not being utilised for coastal/marine culture/farming.

“Our government has given due importance to the development of fisheries sector and hence going to formulate first ever fisheries policy with the technical support from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization),” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan were blessed with natural water resources and those waters were a haven for trout farming. “This (project) will not only address poverty but also meet the food requirements,” he added.

Moreover, this would boost tourism in the region as well as help earn precious foreign exchange from trout export, which was in line with the PM’s vision

The initiatives under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Emergency Program will bring economic revolution by addressing the menacing issue of poverty. He suggested farmers to take maximum benefit from the wealth of natural resources and join hands for trout farming to contribute in the country’s socioeconomic development.

The project would be rigorously monitored and supported for maximum output, he added. Jahangir Khan Tareen said the PTI came to power with a vision to bring revolutionary changes in all sectors of the economy; agriculture was one of the vital sectors for the development of Pakistan and alleviation of poverty.

He said both the provincial and federal governments were contributing billions of rupees for the trout farming project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit. He urged politicians, bureaucracy, and farmers to work in collaboration to achieve the desired end.