The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has come up with a solution that will help fishermen fetch better price for their catch without depending on middlemen. The institute has developed a multi-vendor e-commerce website and mobile app to help fish farmers and fishermen sell their catch directly to customers online.
The website, www.marinefishsales.com, and mobile app, marinefishsales, were developed under the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project of the CMFRI as part of improving income of the coastal community. The initiative was one of the ways to tackle the situation prevailing in the coastal belt owing to dwindling catches, said a press release here.
The portal is an interface of multi-vendors and consumers with the CMFRI performing the administrative role between them. Fishermen and fish farmers who want to sell their catch and fish online may form Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and register with the platform. The CMFRI will monitor vendor profiles, order status and sales.
Fishermen self-help groups can register as vendors (fishers and farmers) based on their products to sale, and update their stock availability time to time which will be displayed in the website and the app. Customers can place their orders after choosing the fish, either cleaned or raw, from respective farmers or fishermen groups. At present, payment is available only on cash-on-delivery mode. The profit will be shared directly among fishermen and farmers’ groups.
Trial sales were also conducted after the CMFRI provided training to fish farmers and fishermen to familiarise with the website and the mobile application, the press release added.
“The e-commerce platform developed by the NICRA project of the CMFRI will be greatly beneficial to fishermen and fish farming community to increase their income and avoid exploitation by middlemen,” said P.U. Zacharia, Principal Investigator of the NICRA project.
Quality fish
The portal would be beneficial to fish consumers too, he said. “Quality fish at reasonable price will be made available online. Fresh farmed fish such as seabass, pearl spot, tilapia, red snapper, cobia cultured in ponds and backwaters along with various fish caught daily from the sea by fishermen will be available,” the release said.
The online sales through the web portal and mobile app will be operational within two weeks. Registered fishermen and fish farmers who wish to be part of the initiative may form self-help groups and register as vendors on the website or contact the NICRA research team of the CMFRI. Phone: 9447719581. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
