45-Day Training on Seaweed Cultivation and Processing Begins at NIOT Campus in Dollygunj

Tarun Karthick

Sri Vijaya Puram, 04 September 2025

The Department of Fisheries, A&N Administration, in collaboration with NIOT-ACOSTI underneath the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has launched a 45-day Field Training Programme on Seaweed Cultivation and Processing on the NIOT Campus, Dollygunj, on September 3, 2025. The initiative goals to create sustainable livelihood alternatives for coastal communities, with a particular give attention to empowering Self-Help Group (SHG) members recognized collectively by the Fisheries and Rural Development Departments.

The inaugural session was attended by Ms. Jyoti Kumari, IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), as chief visitor, together with Ms. Jagtap Kalyani Rajendra, Director of Fisheries, Dr. Dilip Kumar Jha, Officer-In-Charge, NIOT-ACOSTI, and Dr. Ok. Gopal, Joint Director (Fisheries).

Addressing the gathering, Ms. Jyoti Kumari highlighted the Department’s constant efforts to advertise seaweed cultivation with NIOT’s technical assist via coaching, workshops, and discipline research. She famous that the initiative was the result of six months of preparatory work by NIOT and introduced plans to advance seaweed cultivation in the direction of processing and commercialization. Stressing the necessity for scaling up harvests, she mentioned that such efforts can be key to creating seaweed processing a viable business within the Islands.

Director of Fisheries, Ms. Jagtap Kalyani Rajendra, described the programme as a milestone in selling industrial seaweed cultivation. She lauded the participation of SHG members and college students from JNRM and Pondicherry University, whereas appreciating NIOT’s analysis and workshops that laid the groundwork for the enterprise. She inspired SHG members to make full use of the coaching, which she mentioned would empower native communities to take up seaweed farming at a bigger scale.

Students, SHG members, and officers from the Fisheries and Rural Development Departments participated within the inaugural session.