Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu today launched a database of export-oriented aquaculture farms, alongwith e-Spice Bazaar, a project aimed at ensuring traceability of Indian spice farmers in international markets, at the ongoing Partnership Summit here. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu and others were present at the event. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has compiled a GPS-based database of aquaculture farms in India, to ensure that shrimp and other exportable fish are free from banned antibiotics and other unwanted substances. "Such a measure will go a long way in addressing concerns of USA, Japan and the EU for stringent quality controls over exports of seafood," said MPEDA chairman A Jayathilak. Farms which produce shrimp, shellfish and other exportable varieties of fishare enrolled by providing cards carryinga Unique Identification Number (Farm ID) and Quick Response (QR) code containing basic information about the farms, Jayathilak said. About one lakh aqua farms, spread over 1,95,994 hectares, are under shrimp culture in India. Of this, MPEDA has collected GPS data for 65,595 farms covering 1,48,321 hectares, while enrolment has been completed for 54,165 farms. In Andhra Pradesh, a major exporter of marine products, more than 65,000 farmers with farms covering an area of over 75,000 hectares have been enrolled in nine coastal districts. "The produce from enrolled units can be traced back from farm to end-consumer in case of detection of unwanted or unauthorised substances in the produce," Jayathilak said. Meanwhile, the Spices Board has launched e-Spice Bazaar to ensure traceability of Indian spice farmers in the international markets and determine the quality and price of their produce for export. "The e-Spice Bazaar ensures total integration of all the agencies involved in spices production and exports.
The farmers are also helped through technological advise from scientists in universities and other research stations," Jayathilak, who is also the Chairman of Spices Board, said. The e-Spice Bazaar Farmer Traceability Project, being executed with support from the Central Government's Department of Electronics, seeks to incorporate all commercial spices grown in the country, bring spice farmers in the global supply chain with identification of traceability at source, and generate direct linkage with exports to get a premium price, Jayathilak said. The project currently covers 52,000 chili and turmeric farmers in Prakasam and Guntur districts of AP and Khammam and Warangal of Telangana. In addition to chili and turmeric farmers in these four districts, the portal of the project also has the database of pepper and turmeric farmers from the tribal belt of Vizag Agency area and curry leaf growers of Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
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