Punjab shrimp farming project’s ‘costly seeds’ raise questions

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LAHORE: The Punjab Fisheries Department recently developed tenders for a large -scale crab farming project, which aims to promote water agriculture in the province, which can lead to large -scale financial defects.

Although the move has the capacity, a detailed review of both plans and implementation covers significant flaws, which may result in a significant financial loss. One of the significant concerns is the acquisition of shrimp seeds (Postalrova-PL), as the project requires about 36 36 million PLs for each culture cycle, which is expected to be equally needed for later cycles.

While hanging the pilot project, the government is buying at prices between Rs 4.5 at PL rates and Rs.

If the government is on this path, it can completely afford the annual costs of approximately Rs. He also raises questions about authority. The same bidder may appear to be successful due to tender terms and conditions at the forthcoming bid.

Instead of spending millions of rupees on expensive purchases of shrimp seeds, a more wise and strategic solution will include the establishment of a shrimp hatch through a public private partnership (PPP). By investing Rs 2550 million in a high quality hatch as a timely expenditure, the government can keep the PL’s permanent supply for the future at a significant cost. The move will not only strengthen the local shrimp farming sector in Punjab for at least a decade but also reduce the dependence on imports or local expensive powers, thus promoting domestic production from land.

Such a strategy will protect public funds, create job opportunities, attract private investment, and eventually pave the way for the farming industry that maintains itself in the country. On the contrary, if the current poor purchase strategy is intact, the crab farming plan in Punjab is an example of inadequate planning, resulting in avoiding financial support. The important question remains: Will the government choose the cost effective, sustainable and long -term strategy?

The Punjab government’s chief spokesperson insisted that the project is to invest in full value China, including huge investment on hatchery. When its focus is diverted that it is a matter of concern that Punjab is buying 10 times expensive crab PL (seeds) and thus excessive financial pressure will be badly affected by the feasibility of the project, So he rejected the idea that this was not a matter of concern. Rather, it is like importing EV vehicles unless they are ready and assembled in the country. And our own hatch will be ready by December.

He added that the feasibility is based on the 100 -acre pilot project. It has five projects that will be parallel. Internal sources in the market believed that the hatchri was a good option. However, it should be preferred to source the cheap shrimp seeds as its construction can be completed in a few months.

It is worth mentioning here that the sourcing of the shrimp posts is of great importance for farming. For the success of the crab farm, only the best quality and cost efficient PL must be stored. Knowing the starting point in this regard is key. Given issues related to the local production line and emerging challenges with imports, only a viable option is to produce a standard PL through a viable option, which is developed as part of a well -established value chain.