WASHINGTON, June 17, 2022 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a loan of $150 million to support the recovery of India’s fisheries sector. In 2020-21 the sector saw losses of about $5.5 billion and fish production fell almost 40 percent in one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
India’s fisheries sector currently employs about 12 million people directly and another 13 million through associated activities. The Fisheries Sector COVID-19 Recovery Project will complement the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, which aims to transform the sector in a sustainable manner by introducing modern practices, improving access to finance and making it more climate-resilient.
Incentives for larger private investment in the fisheries sector in India have been limited, mainly due to lack of access to financing or credit, and perceptions that the sector is high-risk. The project will help microenterprises access working capital by connecting them with government schemes that provide financial support to farmers such as the Kisan Credit Card and the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Limited (MUDRA).
The project will also help improve the sector’s risk management capability against future shocks and losses by facilitating access to insurance. Microenterprises that adopt energy-efficient and good aquaculture practices, including using legal and non-destructive technologies and those owned by women, will be especially incentivized. The sector currently sees a waste of nearly 35 percent due to poor post-harvest practices.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fisheries sector saw losses worth almost $3.3 billion in exports from March 2020-21. The Government of India estimates that more than 8 million fishworkers lost either their working capital, incomes, or jobs in this period,” said Hideki Mori, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for India. “The World Bank project aims to promote sustainable, inclusive, equitable, and responsible harnessing of fisheries, while adapting a build back better approach for improved governance in the sector.”
To discourage overexploitation of ecological resources, the project will provide performance grants. These grants will be provided to microenterprises that create jobs by reengaging in production and distribution after the pandemic. Similar grants will also be offered to microenterprises that use effective climate-resilience measures.
“India’s fisheries sector needs some critical transitions to ensure the availability of safe and nutritious fish products for a growing number of consumers,” said Tapas Paul, Abel Lufafa and Deepak Singh, Task Team Leaders of the project. “The project will help improve the management of natural resources, including the sustainable use of water and avoiding impacts on biodiversity, and shifting to more sustainable fishing practices.”
The project will also support strengthening the institutional capacity of the government’s Department of Fisheries.
