Partnering with Odisha Government to empower women through aquatic foods production
The Government of Odisha has signed a new five-year agreement with WorldFish to uplift women from Mission Shakti Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by making them financially independent through the sustainable and profitable production and sale of fresh fish and hygienically dried fish.
Over the five years, WorldFish will train 30,000 women from 3,000 Mission Shakti SHGs to produce hygienically dried fish using solar driers. The Mission Shakti SHGs involved in the production of hygienically dried fish are spread across seven coastal districts, namely Ganjam, Puri, Khorda, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.
“By training them to hygienically dry and process fresh fish using low-cost solar driers, they can enhance the quality and prolong the shelf life, reducing loss and waste and eventually, increasing incomes,” said Baishnaba Charan Ratha, WorldFish’s senior human nutrition and public health specialist in India.
The production is considered more hygienic as it is in an enclosed tent, preventing contamination with sand, dust, insects and bird droppings among others. These hygienic dried fish will subsequently be marketed through buyback arrangements with established market actors in the dried fish industry.
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