3 days ago
Seaweed farming: A path to empowering women
Seaweed and women's empowerment may not sound like an obvious fit, but that is the quiet change taking place along the coastline. India's seaweed industry is largely untapped, contributing only 0.003% in global trade value. However, the World Bank has identified 10 emerging seaweed markets/applications with a potential of $11.8 billion by 2030.
Seaweed lies at the intersection of India's green economy, coastal development, and bio-economy goals. India is home to over 844 seaweed species but only 60 are commercially cultivated. A paltry three species are currently farmed at scale in regions such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) aims to boost seaweed production to 1.12 million tonnes in five years. Women can play a big role in this expansion. From female seaweed diving squads harvesting the plants, to women driving innovation in labs, supply chains, and boardrooms, seaweed is emerging as an industry that's seeing women play a key role at every rung of the ladder.
The seaweed industry has emerged as an alternative employment for fisherfolk — nearly 60% of India's seaweed workforce comprise women. Women are not just the frontline gatherers and farmers, but are also producers of value. From innovative food businesses creating high-protein seaweed crackers, to award-winning biodegradable plastic, full-stack tech solutions, to a legacy company cultivating important species of seaweed — the industry is replete with examples of women with big entrepreneurial ambitions. Their efforts are not only creating new business models, but also reimagining how seaweed — that can also serve as an effective carbon sequestration tool — can drive innovative business models, coastal livelihood opportunities, and economic growth. A Council for Environment, Energy and Water (CEEW) study on the green economy points out how, thanks to a short cultivation period, seaweed farming can improve livelihood opportunities for fishing communities, especially women. For instance, it found that in Chilika Lake, Odisha, approximately 100 trained individuals, particularly women, cultivate Gracilaria, a type of seaweed indigenous to the area near Balugaon. The seaweed matures for harvesting within just 45 days of planting, enabling cultivators to earn up to ₹10,000 per month from a 10-acre underwater area.
Abhishek Jain, director, Green Economy and Impact Innovations, CEEW, says, 'Seaweed cultivation offers a climate-neutral, resource-efficient path to strengthen India's Green Economy. One of our study estimates Odisha alone could generate over one lakh sustainable jobs and ₹800 crore in market value for the industry by 2030.'
Women entrepreneurs in the sector are leading a wide range of innovations — from ethical harvesting to producing edible seaweed products, to manufacturing hydrocolloids for food and pharma industries, and even developing seaweed-based biodegradable packaging materials. Gabriella D'Cruz, marine conservationist and founder of Good Ocean says, 'Seaweed harvesting and farming is generally carried by women from coastal communities over men primarily due to its intertidal nature. Women generally prefer to farm or harvest seaweed closer to their homes while men go out to sea on boats.'
Devleena Bhattacharya, founder, ClimaCrew, says her company is building a full stack tech platform to scale up cultivation, processing, and a marketplace for seaweed in India, to connect seaweed suppliers and buyers using data, technology, and social science — kind of a digital backbone for the industry.
Be it Atmanirbhar Bharat, Nari Shakti, Viksit Bharat, or climate action, this industry is aligned with several national goals. All it needs is better visibility.
The views expressed are personal.
