The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has integrated women's employment and livelihood needs into the Blue Economy policy framework through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with specific focus on coastal women including those in Andhra Pradesh. Women beneficiaries receive enhanced financial assistance of 60% for beneficiary-oriented activities compared to 40% for the general category, applicable to both individual and group activities across fisheries and aquaculture enterprises.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh Fishermen Cooperative Federation (AFCOF) has initiated strategic interventions to strengthen cooperatives with special focus on women-led cooperatives by facilitating the formation of Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs). The state government reported that 66 Women Fisher Workers' Cooperatives have been registered/converted into FFPOs, with a total of ₹69,11,452 released towards Management Cost and Equity Grant to 10 FFPOs for improving office infrastructure, business development activities, and financial base strengthening.
Specifically in Nellore District, 6 Fisherwomen Cooperative Societies have been converted into FFPOs, with an amount of ₹90,000 sanctioned as a one-time grant to one FFPO so far. The PMMSY scheme supports women across diverse fisheries activities including acquisition of deep-sea fishing vessels, seaweed cultivation, ornamental fisheries, paddy-cum-fish culture, cage culture, fish processing, value addition, and marketing, promoting livelihood diversification and resilience.
The policies also promote deep-sea and mechanized fishing as part of the strategy for enhancing fish production, productivity, and value-chain modernization while safeguarding traditional fisherwomen through targeted interventions. The information was provided by Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in response to a Rajya Sabha question.