AP to Undertake Seaweed Culture in 9 Districts
Seaweed is a healthy and hygienic food, which is vastly consumed majorly in Japan
KAKINADA: Andhra Pradesh has unveiled plans to undertake seaweed culture in 14 villages across 9 coastal districts, including Tirupati, with the collaboration of the Amrita University, the central salt and marine chemicals research institute and national institute of ocean technology.
The project is to be taken up by society for elimination of rural poverty, with a view to establishing seaweed cultivation as a transformative and sustainable alternative livelihood for coastal communities. This would help around 6,000 families earn around `1.5 lakh per annum. The initiative would be entrusted to self help groups with financial support from SERP.
Projections are that trained beneficiaries can generate incomes ranging from `1.5 lakh to `3.5 lakh per hectare of cultivation area. This, depending on species selection, the cultivation methodologies employed, the processing levels achieved and the market access capabilities developed through the programme.
In addition to its substantial economic promise, seaweed farming offers remarkable environmental benefits that align with global climate change mitigation strategies and marine ecosystem conservation objectives.
Seaweed cultivation plays a crucial role in carbon sequestration, with these marine plants absorbing significant quantities of carbon dioxide directly from seawater and the atmosphere.
A plan is to start the seaweed farming in Ammenabada and Danavaipeta in Kakinada district to develop a grid model, Sirrayanam in the BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, Etimoga (China Ganjam) in Bapatla, Budagatlapalem in Srikakulam, a grid model development in Tirupati and some of the villages in Nellore, Anakapalli, Krishna and Prakasam districts.
The CSMCRI would support the seaweed culture at Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Krishna and Kakinada districts, NIOT in Tirupati and Amrita University in Konaseema, Anakapalli and Srikakulam districts.
According to sources, CSMCRI has taken up seaweed culture at Budagatlapalem in Srikakulam district, but failed. So, Amrita would take up the culture here. SERP has prepared an action plan to attract entrepreneurs in the postharvest of seaweed culture.
Meanwhile, challenges are many and these have to be faced to develop seaweed culture as this is a perishable product on the lines of milk. The harvest can come about within 45 to 60 days and it should be processed or marketed immediately.
Seaweed is a healthy and hygienic food, which is vastly consumed majorly in Japan.
A market centre exists in Mandapam in Tamil Nadu. Unless a market is created in AP for seaweed culture, this should be carried to Mandapam. But, a question is whether it survives the journey to Mandapam.
Experts said processed units should be established at the seaweed culture areas.
Dr V.V. Rao, functional expert in aqua at SERP, said that if seaweed culture is grown, the PPT (parts per thousand) of salinity should be maintained at less than 35 per cent in the culture spot. In the Mandapam area, the seaweed is grown near the shore. In Andhra Pradesh, in many areas in the sea, it could be cultivated in deep waters.
This would involve a huge expense, he said.
According to him, cultivation efforts may encounter challenges due to unpredictable climate conditions that disrupt growth cycles. This would affect crop yields. He said that if the expenditure is `35 per tonne, this is viable as the market rate is `50 per kilo.
A woman entrepreneur is successfully running seaweed culturing at Bapatla. She got a yield of nearly 100 tonnes.
