Fisheries and aquaculture are among India’s fastest-growing food-producing sectors, playing a vital role in livelihoods, nutrition, and trade. Over the decades, India has witnessed remarkable growth in aquatic food production that is driven by technological innovation, institutional support and proactive policy measures. Yet, the sector faces critical challenges. Overfishing, habitat degradation, water pollution and climate change are straining aquatic ecosystems. Small-scale fishers and farmers often lack access to finance, technology and markets, while poor traceability and inadequate post-harvest measures limit taping of the best export and domestic market potential and compromise food security.

On World Fisheries Day 2025 (November 21), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calls for a renewed commitment to India’s Blue Revolution and supports the Government of India’s theme this year, which is “India’s Blue Transformation: Strengthening Value Addition in Seafood Exports”.

India’s growth in fisheries and aquaculture

According to the FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2024, global capture fisheries produced 92.3 million tonnes in 2022, while aquaculture reached a record 130.9 million tonnes, valued at $313 billion. India contributed 10.23 million tonnes of aquatic animals, making it the world’s second-largest aquaculture producer.

India’s aquatic food production, encompassing capture fisheries and aquaculture, has risen from 2.44 million tonnes in the 1980s to 17.54 million tonnes in 2022-23. Aquaculture has emerged as one of the key driver of this growth, reflecting sectoral modernisation through advanced technologies, infrastructure and institutional support.

Agencies such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) fisheries institutes, Marine Products Export Development Authority, and National Fisheries Development Board have promoted innovation and best practices, while the Coastal Aquaculture Authority has regulated coastal aquaculture activities to ensure environmental compliance. The private sector has expanded investments from hatcheries to exports, reinforcing value chain efficiency.

The past decade has ushered in a new phase of transformation, beginning with India’s Blue Revolution initiative and advancing under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). These programmes have driven production growth, particularly in inland and brackish water aquaculture, while improving safety, regulation, and resilience in fisheries.

Key reforms include vessel transponders for fisher safety, digital and credit inclusion through the Kisan Credit Card, and the establishment of Matsya Seva Kendras for integrated support. The Climate-Resilient Coastal Fishermen Villages Programme and the draft National Fisheries Policy 2020 are positive developments.

The FAO’s support across India

The FAO has been a long-standing partner in India’s fisheries and aquaculture journey, supporting the country’s transition toward sustainability and resilience. The FAO’s decades of collaboration with India have shaped policy, strengthened institutions, and advanced innovation in the sector.

Also read | India’s marine fish landings drop 2% in 2024: CMFRI

The FAO’s collaboration with India began with the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), one of FAO’s earliest regional small-scale fisheries initiatives. The FAO, through BOBP, has supported the Government of India in improving small-scale fishing technologies, strengthening sea safety, and enhancing post-harvest management.

The FAO’s Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) project strengthened India’s efforts to balance fisheries and conservation, supporting the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), and National Plans of Action to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, a major threat to marine ecosystems and sustainable fisheries, conserve endangered species and sustain small-scale fisheries.

To support India’s rapid strides in the field of aquaculture, the FAO is supporting a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project in Andhra Pradesh on ‘Transforming Aquaculture to a Sustainable, Reduced Footprint and Climate-Resilient Food System’, guided by Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (GSA) and Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) principles. The project aims to support the Department of Fisheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh, in promoting climate-resilient, sustainable aquaculture, benefiting the State and serving as a model for India to take forward the government’s Blue Revolution.

As part of the aquatic value chain, strengthening of fishing ports and fishing harbours is also one of the main thrust areas of the Government of India. A Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) of the FAO intends to assist the Government of India to strengthen the technical capacities of fishing ports to address main environmental, social and economic challenges that affect the aquatic value chain. Two pilot fishing ports, specifically Vanakbara (Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Diu without legislation) and Jakhau in Gujarat, will benefit from this TCP that will provide them with specific strategic and operational tools to identify and formulate investments projects, whose implementation would address main challenges.

Focus on sustainability

India’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors are on a promising trajectory. Yet, sustainability must remain central. Managing fishing efforts through science-based stock assessments, promoting co-managed Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) to curb IUU fishing, following Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture and embedding ecosystem-based approaches are key priorities. Strengthening certification, traceability, and digital tools — while ensuring inclusivity for smallholders — will enhance competitiveness in domestic and global markets.

The FAO remains committed to supporting India’s journey toward sustainable aquatic food systems, ensuring food and nutritional security, and reducing environmental and climate footprints, guiding India’s Blue Revolution toward a resilient and inclusive future.

Takayuki Hagiwara is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in India and part of Team UN in India

Published – November 21, 2025 12:08 am IST

Extreme weather events and variability in water availability are severely affecting agricultural production. Image for representational purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar

The theme for World Food Day (October 16) this year — ‘Water is Life, Water is Food’ — calls for urgent action in managing water wisely. Availability or a lack of water has become even more critical with increasing climate extremes. Countries face severe challenges such as drought, floods, unseasonal rains and prolonged dry spells. With less than seven years left to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) — the UN’s food agencies — lay stress on the need to adopt innovative and collaborative approaches for improved management, conservation and availability of scarce water resources.

Water availability affects every aspect of human life, especially food and nutrition security. For instance, about 60% of India’s net sown area is rainfed, contributing to 40% of the total food production. However, rainfed agriculture depends directly on water availability, and rain and soil moisture variations can severely affect food and nutrition security. There is an urgent need to adapt to climate change by promoting technologies and practices that make rainfed production more resilient and sustainable. Sustainable water management is critical to address the impending food and nutrition security threats. In turn, irrigated agriculture accounts for 72% of global freshwater withdrawals, sometimes with lasting damaging effects on the sustainability of significant ecosystems, such as seasonal rivers and deep aquifers.

Water and crop production

Decades of poor water management, misuse and pollution, and the climate crisis have degraded freshwater supplies and ecosystems, adding to the vulnerability of small-scale producers to climate shocks and land degradation in some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. About 40% of the planet’s total land area is degraded, leaving farmers with less productive land. Small-scale farmers, who make up more than 80% of farmers globally, are especially affected as they often lack access to finance, technology and irrigation to maintain a level of production that can sustain their livelihoods.

Extreme weather events and variability in water availability are severely affecting agricultural production, changing agro-ecological conditions and shifting growing seasons. Changes in rainfall and higher temperatures also affect crop productivity, reducing food availability.

The Government of India has assessed the impact of climate change in 2050 and 2080 using climate projections and crop simulation models. Without adaptation measures, rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050, and by 47% in 2080 scenarios, while irrigated rice yields are projected to decline by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios. Wheat yields are projected to decrease by 19.3% in 2050 and 40% in 2080, while kharif maize yields could decline by 18% and 23%. In every scenario, climate change without adequate adaptation measures reduces crop yields and lowers the nutritional quality of produce. The FAO, in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra, is piloting a crop forecasting framework and model incorporating climate (weather), soil characteristics and market information to aid rainfed farmers in making informed decisions contributing to food security.

Irrigation can also be an effective measure to make agriculture more resilient, and in most cases, enable farmers to transform their livelihoods by growing, consuming and selling high-value crops such as nutritious fruits and vegetables. In this context, the WFP supports soil and water conservation, the building or fixing of irrigation canals, dams, ponds, and dykes, as well as flood barriers through food assistance in exchange for labour. In 2021 alone, 8.7 million people across 49 countries benefited directly from such support. Similarly, IFAD supports Indian States in leveraging the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme. Through safeguards during design and planning and encouraging participatory institutional development, IFAD ensures that micro-irrigation infrastructure is environmentally and socially sustainable and financially viable.

Climate change adaptation

The FAO also supports the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems and climate-smart agriculture practices to improve water-use efficiency. It supported the farmer water school programme in Uttar Pradesh, which helped smallholder farmers. At the same time, the Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems project reached out to 638 habitations in seven drought-prone districts, that included a hydrological monitoring programme.

Similarly, IFAD has enshrined climate change adaptation in its core strategies. It set ambitious targets in terms of leveraging climate financing to mitigate climate change by addressing the adverse impacts of agriculture and helping farmers to adapt to the increasing volatility of weather conditions, by investing in the restoration and preservation of soil health, water resources and merging modern technologies with indigenous knowledge systems to build productive and resilient production systems and value chains. IFAD-supported projects in Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Mizoram incorporate climate-resilient seed varieties and crops, including millets, and train farmers in climate-sensitive agricultural practices and soil management to cope with increased water stress. The WFP is collaborating with the Government of Odisha to develop solutions for smallholder farmers, focusing on women. The goal is to enhance resilience through solar technologies, establish community-based climate advisory services to help manage climate impacts and promote a millet-value chain that reduces water usage and improves nutrition.

Steps needed

To achieve global food and nutrition security, political commitment is needed as much as concrete investment. The needed policies and investments must promote: Innovative and proven technologies that allow farmers to increase their productivity, adapt to climate change and become more resilient to shocks; environmentally and socially sustainable and financially viable irrigation and water management strategies; reduce their climate footprint of agricultural production, as well as bio-hazards and environmental pollution; bring sanitation and drinking water supplies closer to rural households; adopt efficient food and water recycling strategies and strengthen institutional arrangements and capacity for sustainable and equitable water regulations, management, access and ownership.

The UN’s food agencies work closely with the Government of India and State governments on innovations such as Solar 4 Resilience, Secure Fishing, and the revival of millets for renewable energy promotion, food security and nutrition.

Takayuki Hagiwara is Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representative in India. Ulac Demirag is Country Director and Representative, International Fund for Agricultural Development. Elisabeth Faure is Representative and Country Director, United Nations World Food Programme in India