Rice farmers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh are complaining over the expansion of shrimp aquaculture, reports the Times of India. Farmers are crying foul over the large-scale conversion of green fields in East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts into shrimp and fish ponds ever since a letter written by retired high court judge, Elipe Dharma Rao, was taken up as a public interest litigation by the Hyderabad high court.According to the letter from Dharma Rao, farmers are either being paid off to move, or threatened. “We are left with no access to our fields and are ultimately forced to part with the land,” Murthy Raju Vegesna, a farmer-cum-activist from Bhimavaram mandal in West Godavari district told the Times. Once a field is converted into a shrimp farm, the land loses its character within two years and can never be turned again into agricultural land again, he said. Shrimp production in India has been rocketing in recent years. During the recent Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) in Miami, Florida, the shrimp panel presented data showing production of 497,622t for the 2015/2016-year. The GSMC shrimp panel estimating 566,000t in 2016/2017, 697,000t in 2017/2018 and 757,000t in 2018/2019. Andhra Pradesh is by far the largest producer
2017 Undercurrent News