By IANS
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh Fisheries Federation (MPFF) has bagged the country’s first ISO certificate for fisheries, awarded by Surewin Quality Certification, Minister of State for Fisheries Moti Kashyap said.
“The federation has been assessed and found to be in conformance to the requirements of the quality management standard,” the minister said in an official statement here Thursday.
The certificate recognises the effective measures adopted by the federation for the welfare of fishermen and was a positive outcome of transparency, good performance and welfare programmes, Kashyap said.
MPFF Managing Director Kanchan Jain said it was the first such certificate given to an Indian cooperative working for fishermen’s welfare.
“The federation has this year introduced an innovative scheme called Jaldeep to provide basic facilities such as education and health to fisher folk living on small islands and isolated areas. It conducted a survey to identify such beneficiaries,” said Jain.
Another noteworthy achievement of the federation, she said, was the credibility and prestige it earned among international funding agencies due to the initiatives taken by it.
These included improving efficiency, constantly increasing fish production and undertaking welfare measures for fish farmers in the state.
“It is also for the first time that the fishermen who suffered losses last year due to heavy rains have been given compensation,” she said.