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Aquaculture: Shrimp Farming in Punjab

Aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming, holds substantial promises for Punjab’s economic growth and sustainable development. The province has extensive saline and brackish water areas, making it ideally suited for shrimp production. These conditions provide an opportunity to foster local seed production, improve food security and build a sustainable shrimp farming industry. Punjab province can modernize farming practices, increase production efficiency and expand market access by strengthening the shrimp value chain through financial support, technical expertise and technology transfer.

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CM PUNJAB INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SHRIMP AQUACULTURE

Cost of the Project: Rs. 4,430.490 million Gestation Period: 48 Months (2024-25 to 2027-28)

The project aims to create livelihoods, enhance food security, generate export revenues and contribute to Punjab’s prosperity.

Key Objectives

  1. Establish a sustainable shrimp aquaculture industry in Punjab.
  2. Foster local shrimp seed production to meet domestic needs.
  3. Promote environmental sustainability through best practices and innovation.
  4. Develop a robust shrimp value chain to improve efficiency and market access.
  5. Facilitate technology transfer and training to improve shrimp farming practices.
  6. Create job opportunities and support livelihoods in rural areas.
  7. Generate valuable export earnings from inland shrimp aquaculture.

Project Scope

Institutional Development:

  • Establishment of a dedicated Directorate of Fisheries for Shrimp Aquaculture (Rs. 449.0 million).

Upgradation of Research Lab & Other Facilities

  • Development of Shrimp Research and Training Center in Muzaffargarh (Rs. 534.0 million).
  • Strengthening of Quality Control Labs in Lahore (Rs. 95.0 million).
  • Strengthening acclimatization facilities at SWARC, Muzaffargarh (Rs. 64.0 million).

Technical Services for Technology Transfer

  • Hiring of foreign consultants for various shrimp aquaculture value chain components (Rs. 363.0 million). Consultants include:
    • Shrimp Breeding & Nursing Expert
    • Shrimp Farm Design & Culture Expert
    • Shrimp Health Management Expert
    • Shrimp Processing, Food Safety & Quality Certification Expert
    • Market Competitiveness Expert

Human Resource / Skill Development

  • Human resource development and internship programs for shrimp aquaculture value chain (Rs. 18.0 million).

Shrimp Value Chain Development

  • Development of Shrimp Hatchery in Punjab via EPC firm with 3-year operational cost (Rs. 1,200.0 million).
  • Development of Shrimp Farms on 1,000 acres and outsourcing to private sector and Government will provide technical services involving foreign experts. Farms on 400 acres will be completed & operated during the current financial year and 600 acres farms will be completed upto 31.12.2025.

Development of Shrimp Value Chain Through Financial Assistance to Private Investors

Subsidy to Shrimp Farmers (Rs. 2,000 million)

  • Subsidy for shrimp farmers on shrimp seed and feed.
  • Rs. 0.8 million per acre (total 2,500 acres over 4 years).

Soft Loans for Shrimp Value Chain Development (Rs. 13,000 million at Zero-interest)

  • Rs. 2,000 million for two shrimp hatcheries (Rs. 1,000 million per unit).
  • Rs. 2,000 million for two processing units/cold storages (Rs. 1,000 million per unit).
  • Rs. 2,000 million for two shrimp feed mills (Rs. 1,000 million per unit).
  • Rs. 7,000 million for farm construction/operation (2.5 million per acre to shrimp farmer, up to 10 acres per farmer, total 2,800 acres over 4 years).

Provision of state lands on long-term basis

  • Policy in process for provision of 48,000 acres of state land to private investors for development of shrimp aquaculture.