Tamil Nadu - Tuticorin   

Seaweed cultivation training under way

Tuticorin: R. Bharat Kumar, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, inaugurated a five–day seaweed cultivation training jointly organised by Aquaculture Foundation of India (AFI), Chennai, and NABARD, Chennai, for self-help group members here on Friday.

The programme was aimed at imparting cultivation, harvesting and drying techniques to 30 SHG members (24 women and 6 men) who were planning to venture into seaweed cultivation on a commercial basis.

Official sources said that NABARD extended financial support to the event to the tune of Rs 1.33 lakh under micro-credit.

The amount was being utilised for buying bamboo rafts and other paraphernalia required for training, exposure visits to progressive farms and site selection for demonstration of seaweed cultivation.

M. Sakthivel, President, AFI, Chennai, said that seaweed cultivation offered great scope as an income generation activity considering the demand of the produce in the manufacture of various personal care, household and medicinal products.

“About 10,000 tonnes of seaweed are produced annually through culture and another 40,000 tonnes by means of wild harvest,” he said.

M. Madasamy, Project Officer, Mahilar Thittam, and J Gunasekaran, District Project Co-ordinator of Continuing Eduacation Programme, were present.

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