The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fish farming

  • ‘Why I’ll combine law with fish farming’

    ‘Why I’ll combine law with fish farming’

    Igwe Nyebuchi was called to the Bar last October. In this interview with ROBERT EGBE he speaks on why fish farming has caught his fancy.

    If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have become? Journalism was an option for me apart from law.

    What was your most memorable experience at the university?

    I finished from the University of Jos in 2014 and in all my days there, my most memorable event was making the Dean’s Honour Roll, an award for academic excellence. I finished with a Second Class Upper.

    How did your family celebrate your Call to Bar?

    My uncle and his family in Abuja showed me the best of all celebrations. They took me out for dinner at Transcorp Hotel, where we ate rice and wine. My friends also came all the way from Jos to celebrate with me.  The night after my Call to Bar, they made souvenirs such as jotters and calendars, featuring my picture and theirs which were presented to my friends and well-wishers.  In my home in Port Harcourt, my Call was also celebrated by my family, church members and friends. My friends also presented the souvenirs in my church, the Sunday after my Call to Bar.

    How much was your first professional fee?

    For personal reasons, I do not do private briefs for now. As a ‘green wig’ I am still under one of the best principals any one can think of. He treats his lawyers well, even though he feels the current economic situation in our dear nation.

    In what way has the challenging economy affected your practice?

    The current economic situation is quite lamentable, things get worse by the day. The most serious aspect of it is the continuous rise in prices of food items. It is more excruciating for young lawyers, who have little or no clientele and nothing to fall back on, as even clients can no longer afford our appearance fees. As young lawyers, most of us depend solely on the proceeds of legal practice. When one cannot afford to provide complete meals for his or her family, is it money to pay for litigation, agreements or even the purchase of properties that he can afford? The answer is definitely no.

    So, what should be done to help young lawyers?

    The government should, as a matter of urgency, do something to salvage the situation. It should declare a state of emergency on the Nigerian economy and consider an aggressive short-term economic policy to cushion the hunger in this country. I do believe in the capabilities of this government, but it must act fast. Meanwhile, I encourage Nigerians to consider farming as supplements to salaries. As an individual, I am making arrangement to go into fish farming by December.

    Why fish farming? Have you any  training on it?

    I’m undergoing training at the moment. We’re at the theoretical stage now, in a short while I’ll be taught the practical aspects, such as hatching, etc. I opted for fish farming because I believe it will give me time to practice law and it also requires less capital to float than some other business ventures. It’s also relatively easy to manage. Feed the fish in the morning before work and evening after work.

    Where do you see yourself in a few years?

    Well, it is my desire to be a law lecturer, but then law practice is also fun, it makes me read and think faster. I enjoy it. Thank God for my principals, Mr. A. O. Obi and N. P Nweke, who are always there to answer my questions. Thank God I am a lawyer. I also hope to further my education and contribute my best to the improvement of the Nigerian judicial system, while practicing as a lawyer.

  • Boosting cage fish farming

    Boosting cage fish farming

    At a time fish stocks are declining globally due to factors, such as climatic change and pollution, cage fish farming technique has become an encouraging alternative that yields 10 times the ‘fish catch’ compared to ‘fish reared’ in ponds,or in the sea. The West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme  is working with the private sector to boost fish production nationwide, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Phil Onuoha produces fish seeds. His interest in farming started from youth, having been born into a fish farming family.

    Though they did not have the technology and the infrastructure then and they were not able to pay scientists to teach them fish hatchery management and practices.

    Against this background, Onouha has moved to enlighten farmers that they could make money from the trade as well as improve their diet as fish is highly nutritious. He rears catfish and sells fingerlings to farmers who rears them. According to him, fish farming can  boost farmers’ income.

    His farm, aside from producing fingerlings and grown-outs, provides education on fish farming to  farmers and institutions.

    But one day, a competitor poured poison into his water source and his uncle made losses. This made him to research into how to address the issue of water supply. He said farmers spend a lot of money on generators to ensure that water supply at their farm go on uninterrupted. The cost of fuelling affects the farms income.

    To solve this problem, Onuoha said the government and the private sector should encourage Nigerians  to practise fish cage farming, which will require them using the abundant natural sources of water. According to him, the rivers and estuaries in Nigeria are extremely suitable sites for fish cage farming.

    The streams and rivers, therefore, offer opportunities for pond culture, while the larger rivers and lakes offer opportunities for intensive cage culture. Onuoha  said locating fish farms within  water bodies is crucial and most productive and would bring returns to the investors.

    Generally, cage fish farming involves the use of nets mounted on metallic frames to form a cage. The cage is placed in a specific area, where it floats on water. The method is cost-effective and increases inland fish production substantially, he said.

    The fish, such as tilapia, mature between six and eight months. Un-der this procedure, fish rearing is done in an enclosed area in a natural aquatic environment where the water continuously flows  without accumulation of debris, which is why there is no pollution or ammonia deposition as in the case of stagnant and low density water ponds.

    At the end of the culture period, which ranges from six to eight months, three to five tonnes of fish are produced from one cage.

    The biggest advantage of cage farming, according to Onuoha, is that it saves water as there is no need to change the water as sea water flows continuously through the cages. Natural food is easily available for the fish to feed on and there’s no need to put up any time or space-consuming infrastructure except the cages.

    However, not all areas are suitable for cage farming. There needs to be optimum depth of at least 10 metres from the shore; the sea should be more or less calm without high waves and currents where the cages are located. The salinity, ammonia, nitrate should be all within permissible limits, according to experts.

    Cage culture is a new method of fish farming. According to experts, a stock of about 1,500kg can be accommodated in a cage of two metres length, two metres wide and two metres deep

    The disadvantage is that cages can only be used in water which is more than five metres deep.

    China has recorded some successes in cage culture and marine fish cage culture.

    Head of Trade, Marketing Department, Green Agriculture West Africa (GAWAL), a subsidiary of China General Construction (CGC Nigeria Ltd), John Wen, said his organisation is working with the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Nigeria to promote the development of small scale cage fish farms across the  country.

    The cage culture would be small-scale operation located onshore or in mangrove creeks, not far from farmers’homes for easy management, security and saving of labour costs.

    He  said the  company  was  cooperating with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives for the promotion of fish cage culture by introducing advanced fish farming techniques from China.  In 2013, the company  signed  a  memorandum of understanding (MoU) with WAAPP-Nigeria for agricultural cooperation. The deal has covered construction of biogas digesters and fish cage culture projects, production and supply of rice and maize-certified seeds.

    Chief of South-South Cooperation, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Festus Akinnifesi, said since 2003, about 650 Chinese experts and technicians have been fielded in Nigeria for a minimum of two years. The experts are deployed in all the country’s 36 states and a majority of them live in rural communities. Once there, the experts share their knowledge, skills and experiences, and have helped introduced, demonstrated and enabled the adaptation of more than 200 Chinese-developed scalable technologies and innovations.

    In Koton-Karfi, Kogi State, members of a new cooperative are waiting for about 4,000 tilapia to mature in eight bamboo-and-net cages anchored to the shore of a small lake. “Traditionally we fish by setting nets, but we’re never sure how much we’ll catch,” explains 20-year-old Al Hassan Tijani.

    “With fish cage culture, we know how many fish we will harvest, and how much we will earn,” he added.

  • Boosting cage fish farming

    Boosting cage fish farming

    At a time when fish stocks are declining globally due to factors such as  climatic change and pollution, cage fish farming technique, has become an encouraging alternative that yields 10 times the ‘fish catch.’  compared to ‘fish reared’ in ponds,or in the sea. The West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme  is working with the private  sector to boost fish production nationwide, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Phil Onuoha  produces  fish seed and is a grow-out farmer. His interest in farming started while he  was young, having been born in a fish farming family.

    Then, they  never  had  the technology and the infrastructure and were not able to bring in scientists to teach them  fish hatchery management and practices.

    He wanted to enlighten farmers that they could make money from the trade as well as improve their diet as fish is highly nutritious. He rears catfish and sells fingerlings to farmers who then rear them. According to him, fish farming has been identified as a way to help farmers achieve middle-level income.

    His  farm, aside from producing fingerlings and grown-outs, provides education on fish farming to interested farmers and institutions.

    At one point, a  competitor poured poison into his water source and his uncle recorded massive losses. This made him to think and do more research on how to address the issue  of  water supply. He said farmers spend a lot of money on generator in most cases to ensure that water supply activities at their farm go on uninterrupted. The cost of fuelling eats deep into whatever gains the farm would have made.

    To address this problem, Onuoha said the government and the private sector should encourage Nigerians  to practise fish cage farming, which will require them utilising  the  abundant  natural sources of water. According to him, the rivers and estuaries in Nigeria are extremely suitable sites for fish cage farming.

    The streams and rivers, therefore, offer opportunities for pond culture, while the larger rivers and lakes offer opportunities for intensive cage culture.  Onuoha  said  locating  fish  farms within  water bodies is  crucial  and  most productive and would   bring returns to the investors.

    Generally, cage fish farming involves the use of nets mounted on metallic frames to form a cage. The cage is placed in a specific area, where it floats on water. The method is cost-effective and increases inland fish production substantially, he said.

    The fish, such as tilapia, mature between six and eight months. Under this procedure, fish rearing is done in an enclosed area in a natural aquatic environment where the water continuously flows  without accumulation of debris, which is why there is no pollution or ammonia deposition as in the case of stagnant and low density water ponds.

    At the end of the culture period, which ranges from six to eight months, three to five tonnes of fish are produced just from one cage.

    The biggest advantage of cage farming, according to Onuoha, is that despite being a fish culture technique, there is no need to change the water as sea water continuously flows through the cages, there is some natural food easily available for the fish to feed on and there’s no need to put up any time or space-consuming infrastructure except the cages.

    However, not all areas are suitable for cage farming. There needs to be optimum depth of at least 10 metres from the shore, the sea should be more or less calm without high waves and currents where the cages are located. The salinity, ammonia, nitrate should be all within permissible limits, according to experts.

    Cage culture is a new method developed in recent times. According  to experts, a stock of about 1,500kg can be accommodated in a cage of two metres length, two metres wide and two metres deep

    The disadvantage is that cages can only be used in water which is more than five metres deep.

    China  has  recorded a success story  in cage culture and marine fish cage culture.

    Head of Trade, Marketing Department, Green Agriculture West Africa (GAWAL), a subsidiary of China General Construction (CGC Nigeria Ltd), John Wen, said his organisation is working with the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Nigeria to  promote the development of small scale cage fish  farms across the  country.

    The  cage culture would be small-scale operation located onshore or in mangrove creeks, not far from farmers’ houses for easy management, security and saving of labour costs.

    He  said the  company  is  cooperating with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives for the promotion of fish cage culture by introducing advanced fish farming techniques from China.  In 2013, the company  signed  a  memorandum of understanding (MoU) with WAAPP-Nigeria for agricultural cooperation. The  cooperation has covered construction of biogas digesters and fish cage culture projects, production and supply of rice and maize certified seeds.

    Chief of South-South Cooperation, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Festus Akinnifesi, said since 2003, nearly 650 Chinese experts and technicians have been fielded in Nigeria for a minimum of two years. The experts are deployed in all the country’s 36 states and the vast majority of them live in rural communities. Once there, the experts share their knowledge, skills and experiences, and have helped introduced, demonstrated and enabled the adaptation of more than 200 Chinese-developed scalable technologies and innovations.

    In Koton-Karfi, Kogi State, members of a recently established cooperative are waiting for some 4,000 tilapia to mature in eight bamboo-and-net cages anchored to the shore of a small lake. “Traditionally we fish by setting nets, but we’re never sure how much we’ll catch,” explains 20-year-old Al Hassan Tijani.

    “With fish cage culture, we know how many fish we will harvest, and how much we will earn,” he added.

  • NNPC votes N1b for fish farming

    NNPC votes N1b for fish farming

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Cooperative Society has voted N1billion for fish farming in Kampe dam located between Kabba and Lokoja in Kwara and Kogi states,  the Lower  Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA) has said.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Niyi Afolayan who spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital said NNPC Cooperative Society has already acquired 187 hectares for fish production.

    He argued that the country has no business importing fish in view of her huge potential in fish farming.

    He added that pursunat to this, the state-run oil firm had undertaken a study tour of Israel with  LNRBDA’s management.

    He said LNRBDA is also to irrigate 10,000 hectares in Kwara and Kogi states for the cultivation of rice and sugar cane.

    According to him, the  N3.5 billion contract for the irrigation project had been awarded and would also cover 3,800 hectares at Tada/Shonga.

    He said when completed, the Tada/Shonga irrigation project would produce enough rice to feed the nation.

    Afolayan said Kampe dam between Kabba and Lokoja would irrigate 4,200 hectares for rice and sugar cultivation.

    He said the dam is unique because of its location on a higher elevation on the River Niger, adding that its water flows through gravity to the field.

    According to him, unlike most dams, the dam does not need electrical or mechanical force to drive irrigation water.

    Afolayan said the Dangote Group had indicated interest in investing in irrigation around Kampe dam, adding that the land was suitable for sugar cane cultivation.

    He said the authority had embarked on the irrigation of 500 hectares in the area, adding that corporate farmers had signified interest in cultivating land around the dam.

    He further stated that Landmark University, Omu-Aran, had applied for 1,000 hectares and another 1,000 hectares for its graduate farmers who are interested in fish farming.

    Afolayan said the venture would stimulate a lot of job creation opportunities, generate foreign exchange, and reduction in poverty and crime in the area.

    On the dam, he saidLNRBDA has a big dam and five small ones, adding that plans were on  to construct more dams.

    On funding, he said the authority was facing financial challenges in the training of its personnel, and the development of its dams.

  • Council boosts fish, onion farming

    Council boosts fish, onion farming

    Fish and onion farmers in Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi State have been assured of government’s assistance in order to improve their capacity for large-scale production.

    The Chairman of the council Alhaji Bala Usman Mohammed stated this in an interactive session with journalists who visited the local government.

    He stated that considering that fish farming is one of the most important farming activities in the area, his council had ensured that Yauri fish farmers formed co-operative groups and societies in order to benefit from the incentives from the local government as well as loan facility from Bank of Agriculture.

    “The first thing we did was to make sure that fish farmers in Yauri formed co-operative groups or societies and select their leaders. We then provided them with incentives to boost their production. We are also aware that Bank of Agriculture, through the forms we distributed to the farmers, will release N84, 000 to each farmer as loan facility. All the farmers have been instructed to open account with the bank,” he said.

    The council chief further said onion farming in Yauri was flourishing. In the circumstances, he said, the local government has given each onion farmer two bags of fertiliser and irrigation machine with the view to sustaining continuous onion farming to achieve large-scale production.