Gandhinagar, March 14 – The Gujarat government will introduce deep-sea fishing vessels and a new system for offshore fishing, featuring a “mother vessel” support system, as part of its agricultural budget initiatives, Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani announced on Saturday.
During a press conference, Minister Vaghani explained that the state plans to encourage fishermen to fish in deeper waters beyond 12 nautical miles by introducing the “Deep Sea Fishing Vessel Scheme.” This scheme aims to tap the fishing potential in areas beyond Gujarat's coastal waters and within the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Under this scheme, fishermen will receive support to adopt modern and safer fishing practices in deep-sea areas. This includes measures to increase fish production.
The government has set the cost of a deep-sea fishing vessel at ₹1.2 crore, with financial assistance of up to 50% of the cost, capped at ₹60 lakh, or 50% of the actual expenditure, whichever is lower.
For the 2026-27 financial year, the government has set a target of 30 vessels and allocated ₹15 crore for the programme.
Minister Vaghani stated that the government will review the demand for the scheme. "If required, the government will adopt a positive approach to increasing the target," he said.
The state also plans to implement a "Mother Vessels" scheme, which it describes as a first of its kind in India's fisheries sector.
These large vessels, also known as carrier, receiver, or factory vessels, will operate in deep waters and provide logistical and processing support to fishing boats working at sea.
The vessels will have facilities for hygienic fish landing, sorting, pre-processing, processing, and storage.
Fishermen will be able to directly transfer their catch to the mother vessel while still at sea, ensuring that the catch is handled and exported with maintained quality.
The vessels will also provide fuel, water, food, and technical support to smaller fishing boats operating for extended periods in deep waters.
This scheme aims to expand fishing activity in areas beyond 60 nautical miles from the coast that are currently underutilized. The cost of a mother fishing vessel has been fixed at ₹50 crore, with government assistance of 25%, or up to ₹12.5 crore.
Fisheries cooperative societies, Fish Farmers Producer Organisations (FFPOs), and private companies will be eligible to participate in the scheme.
In agriculture infrastructure, the government has expanded assistance under the ‘Crop Storage Structure Scheme’ to help farmers build small warehouses at the farm level.
The size limit for these structures has been increased from 300 square feet to 600 square feet, while financial assistance has been raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh per unit. The budget allocation for the scheme has been doubled to ₹154 crore.
The minister also announced plans to expand the production of sexed semen doses at the laboratory in Patan, operating under the National Gokul Mission.
The facility has produced eight lakh doses so far, resulting in the birth of more than 31,263 female calves, with a reported success rate of over 90%.
While the cost of a dose is approximately ₹700, the government is making it available to livestock rearers at ₹50.
An additional eight lakh doses will be produced in the coming period, supported by a ₹13 crore provision in the 2026–27 budget.
Vaghani said that this technology will help increase milk production and reduce the problem of stray cattle in the state.
The state also plans to expand grain storage capacity across rural, taluka, and district levels, in line with the central government's cooperative-sector grain storage programme.
Currently, much of Gujarat's storage infrastructure is concentrated in urban areas, often forcing farmers to sell their produce at lower prices after harvest.
Under the new plan, a network of over 10,000 agricultural credit societies, over 28,000 purchase and sale unions, and 23 milk unions will be involved in developing scientific storage infrastructure.
The government has allocated ₹30 crore for the initiative. Newly constructed warehouses may also be used by the Food Corporation of India for storage, allowing cooperative institutions to earn rental income.
The minister also announced a token budget provision of ₹10 crore for a proposed “Gujarat Agri Business and Export Promotion Policy 2026”.
The policy is intended to promote value addition, food processing, reduce post-harvest losses, and develop farm-gate processing facilities.
It will also support agri-based industries, agri-tech startups, and investment in food processing, while encouraging quality improvement, branding, and marketing of agricultural products to expand exports.
Beneficiaries under the proposed framework include agri-business and food processing units, organizations providing agricultural services such as custom hiring centres and testing laboratories, agri-startups offering technology-based services, as well as farmer producer organisations, self-help groups, and cooperative institutions.
The policy will also support agricultural infrastructure projects under the public–private partnership model, including agri and food parks, irradiation centres, airport cargo facilities, laboratories, agri malls, and local grading markets.
In some cases, the state will provide assistance of up to ₹50 crore for PPP projects, where land is provided at concessional rates or free of cost.
“The policy aims to promote value addition, strengthen agri-business, and increase the share of Gujarat in agricultural exports while creating new employment opportunities in rural areas,” Vaghani said.
