FAO India Team Visits ICAR Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

The FAO India team, led by Mr. Takayuki Hagiwara, FAO Representative in India, visited the ICAR Central Institute of Fisheries Technology on March 25, 2025. Other members included Dr. R.K. Singh, Animal Health Expert at FAO India; Rajesh Dubey, Animal Health and Emergency Program Coordinator at FAO India; and Dr. Vikram from FAO India.

During the meeting, the FAO team discussed leveraging institutional expertise to support antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance, One Health coordination, and the safe and hygienic processing and drying of fish. Dr. George Ninan, Director of ICAR CIFT, presented a comprehensive overview of the significant achievements made by the institution in harvest and post-harvest technologies within the fisheries sector. Following the presentation, Dr. T. Raja Swaminathan, Head of Division for Microbiology, Fermentation, and Biotechnology, discussed ICAR CIFT’s expertise in AMR and how the institute can contribute to One Health for better surveillance, control, and response to AMR. The team toured several laboratories and facilities across various divisions, including Fisheries Technology, Fish Processing, Microbiology, Fermentation and Biotechnology, Engineering, Biochemistry and Nutrition, and  the National Referral Laboratory of the institute. They appreciated the ongoing work on producing safe and hygienic fish products for fishermen’s economic empowerment and various research initiatives on AMR under the One Health approach. Additionally, they expressed satisfaction with the state-of-the-art facilities and expertise available at the institute to collaborate with ICAR CIFT to achieve the goals of the Pandemic Fund project.