Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Seediri Appalaraju said that the State government aims to increase the per capita consumption of seafood in the State to 18-21 kg by way of selling at least 30% (equivalent to 15 lakh tonnes) of aqua produce within the State through the Fish Andhra initiative.
Mr. Appalaraju, along with Commissioner of Fisheries K. Kanna Babu and Paytm chief business officer (Payments) Abhay Sharma distributed Point of Sale (PoS) payment devices and speakers to beneficiaries under the Fish Andhra scheme on Tuesday. Paytm and AP State Fishermen Cooperative Societies Federation Limited (AFCOF) signed an MoU to provide payment support to the 100 Aqua Hubs being set up by the State government and 2,000 retail outlets under the scheme in the first phase.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Appalaraju said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is keen that at least 30% of the aqua produce is sold within the State as most of the produce was being exported to other States and countries currently. "The per capita consumption of seafood in many States is 27 kg while it was only seven to eight kg in A.P. We are planning to increase the State's per capita consumption of seafood to 18-21 kg," he said.
