The Siddi community — people of African origin settled in Gir Somnath district who have traditionally been engaged in labour or seafaring — are set to become the face of India’s “blue economy”.
The central govt’s Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI) is setting up India’s first dedicated Mariculture Science and Technology Innovation (STI) Hub in Veraval town, specifically for the Siddi community. It aims to transform them into entrepreneurs through training in mariculture. The initiative is supported by the department of science and technology (DST).
A large number of Siddi people live in Jambur village of Talala taluka, with several families scattered across various other villages of the district. Gujarat has more than 30,000 people of this community. They have lived in this region for centuries and possess great physical strength and endurance, but remain economically marginalized and face significant challenges such as unemployment, lack of access to technology and many of them live in poverty.
According to CMFRI, the skills of the Siddi community are not fully utilized due to the lack of technical knowledge, resources and the support required for integrating modern livelihood solutions.
“CMFRI has been supporting this community for 10 years, trying to involve them in mariculture and introducing them to sea farming practices. The community needs support to ensure they can fully realize their potential in mariculture. The lack of access to advanced technologies, technical support and resources hampers their ability to scale these initiatives into sustainable and profitable businesses,” said Suresh Kumar Mojjada, co-principal investigator of the DST-STI-Hub.
Divu D, senior principal investigator and chairman of the hub, said, “This innovative hub aims to bridge the knowledge and resource gap by providing this community access to the latest in mariculture technologies. The hub is designed to foster entrepreneurship by training and exposure to modern mariculture practices.”
Swathi Lekshmi, another scientist, along with the director of ICAR-CMFRI, Grinson George, are working on this project. The infrastructure for the project is being built and the three-year project is expected to operate fully within six months.
Hasam Musangara, a Siddi leader, said, “This hub will prove significant for the upliftment of our community. We are asking people to get training and improve their livelihood. The income of those who get training and proceed in mariculture will increase and they will come out of poverty.”
What the training will entail
A group from the Siddi community will be trained in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), sea cage farming and seaweed farming, to make them entrepreneurs. IMTA is a farming method in which multiple aquatic species are raised together. “There will be an industry pitching centre in our hub. We will pitch these people’s capabilities to investors and will organize this event once a year. We will also transfer technology along with knowledge and expertise. We will form a company for this community in which they will be the directors and ti will be able to deal with investors. We plan to develop an industry in mariculture, which is being experimented with for the first time in India with this community at Veraval. We want to encourage ‘technopreneurship”,” added Mojjada.
Greater benefits of this project
Mariculture, often referred to as the ‘blue economy’, will play a crucial role in improving coastal livelihoods. CMFRI has developed indigenous mariculture technology, which aims to significantly increase fish production and marine exports. Mariculture reduces pressure on wild fisheries resources and creates diverse income-generating opportunities for coastal communities.