The first-ever initiative to bring all stakeholders in the seaweed industry on one platform was kicked off in Mumbai on Tuesday. The three-day event, titled ‘India International Seaweed Expo and Summit’ was attended by senior politicans from the State and officials from the industry.
The expo was organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), and NITI Aayog.
It was inaugurated by the State Fisheries minister Mahadev Jankar, ICC senior vice-president Mayank Jain and director of CSIR-CSMCRI Dr. Amitava Das.
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“The seaweed industry has huge potential and usage in the food, medicine, pesticide, pharmaceutical and fertilizer industries. Be it production, export or employment, seaweed has a good future in India, as it’s a coastal country,” Mr. Jalan said.
The summit aims to create the potential to explore new business opportunities for private sector companies, coastal farmers and research and development organisations. It also aims to promote interaction between international technical experts, national scientists, industry experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and government agencies.
“There are only 14 to 15 companies in India in the seaweed industry currently. The Government of India wants to promote this sector and NITI Aayog is inviting proposals to discuss and take forward,” Dr. Anil Pratap Singh, Advisor (Agriculture), NITI Aayog, Government of India said.
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The seaweed industry is nascent in India with Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as the highest producers.
“By 2050, the world will require 1.6 to 1.8 billion ton protein a year. Also, every year there is loss of species, accelerated soil erosion and pollution. The sea seems to be a good alternative for agricultural production of the extra 1/2 billion ton of protein,” Dr. Amir Neori, senior researcher of Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Limited, National Center for Manufacture, Israel said.
The event also took into account major and emerging issues. “The complexity of export makes it difficult for local farmers to deal with outsiders, which seems to lower their income,” Dr. Shrikumar Suryanarayan, Managing Director of Sea6 Energy Private Limited said.
Professor Ricardo Radulovich, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Costa Rica said, “The main issue is that there is no seaweed production because there is no market and as there is no market, no production. We need to break this identified cycle.”
The summit also aimed to bring potential solutions on the floor. “The need of the hour is creating a conducive ecosystem, provide incentives for industries and growers. Central schemes for infrastructure development need to be launched along with fostering international collaborations and policies for a strong seaweed industry,” Professor C.R.K Reddy, DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences, said.