Strengthening synergies between the Energy and the Environment Cluster projects of GIZ India

Strengthening GIZ’s sustainability goal for the Aquaculture sector the Promotion of Solar Water Pumps (IGEN-PSWP) and the Sustainable Aquaculture for Food and Livelihood (SAFAL) projects collaborated. In Assam and Odisha, PSWP projects have been working to integrate Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) technologies in Aquaculture value chain. SAFAL project in collaboration IGEN PSWP hosted a workshop as a part of the three-days “Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, Indicator Identification for SAFAL and Decentralised Renewable Energy activities included in the SAFAL project and strategy development workshop” from 01 - 03 Feb 2023.

On 1 February, the PSWP team shared the objective of integrating DRE and explained several DRE technologies, their cost economics, and benefits to the participants. A group activity was organised to brainstorm on 

1. areas of convergence with different state policies and schemes in the state such as PMMSY, CMSGUY etc.
2. how finance can be accessed and financing for DRE applications can be integrated into financial institutions instruments,
3. how awareness among fish farmers can be strengthened, leading to increased adoption of DRE technologies, and
4. capacity building requirements of relevant partners.
    

Key partners comprising of- Department of Fisheries, Assam Government, NABARD, World Fish, CSOs working for the sector - Kalong Kapili, SESTA, Gram Uthan, Darbar Sahitya Sansad, Farmer Producer Organizations members and Community Resource Persons, representatives from Innovative Change Collaborative Services Pvt. Ltd (ICCSPL) participated in the workshop and provided their valuable inputs. 

DRE applications, such as solar water pumps for watering and dewatering, solar refrigerators for enhancing the shelf life of fish and fish products, solar aerators to support in maintaining dissolved oxygen level and circulation of water, and solar dryers to add value to the processing of fish products would be demonstrated in due course of time. 

The project is intended to demonstrate sustainable business models by unlocking the resources available with relevant partners of the sector. The group had emphasized on the use of innovative Information education and communication (IEC) materials to create awareness among the partners to learn and adopt DRE, which is a sustainable approach for the sector to reduce the input cost in long run and to optimize profits. Partners present in the workshop had appreciated the joint effort and provided valuable inputs, suggestion, and feedback to further strengthen the objective of the collaboration. 

For more information, please contact Mr. Anuj Hemant Xess, anuj.xess(at)giz.de and Dr. Jeherul Islam, jeherul.islam(at)giz.de