Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has the potential to become a major supplier in the booming global market for seaweed extracts that are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, according to M.S. Bindu, Principal Investigator of the project launched by the Vizhinjam grama panchayat on Saturday for commercial cultivation of seaweed.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, she said the project would help Indian firms to substitute costly raw material imports. The panchayat has selected 60 unemployed youths ready to take up cultivation of the red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii.

Ms. Bindu said the exotic species procured from Philippines was known for its high yield. A pilot study had indicated that the species could be acclimatised for cultivation in the coastal waters off Vizhinjam.

Panchayat president Asuntha Mohan said the project was designed to provide supplementary income for the impoverished families in the coastal belt. It will help in the economic uplift of the fishermen community, she said. The panchayat has mobilised self-help groups and is imparting training for the programme.

Outlining the potential benefits of the project, N. Kalaiperumal and G.P. Kumara Swamy Achary, former scientists at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), said 7,000 families in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu were already involved in seaweed cultivation. They said indigenous varieties of seaweed were also being cultivated on an experimental basis.

Mr. Achary said a buy-back arrangement with industry could help the project to take off in a big way. Value-addition of the harvested seaweed would enhance the prospects further, he pointed out.

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