The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fish

  • Govt urged to reduce fish feed cost

    Fish farmers have urged  the Federal Government to reduce the cost of feed to make the industry attractive to Small Medium Enterprises (SME) and investors. Feed is said to  constitute  70 per cent of the cost of production.

    Speaking at an aquaculture value chain investors’forum in Lagos, with ‘Reducing the cost of fish production in Nigeria’as its theme, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) Gbola Akande said if the government sponsors long-term and low-interest loans with simplified borrowing procedures, it would reduce the cost of production and stimulate expansion of the fish farming industry.

    He called on the government to look into agricultural subsidy, ensure low interest rate on credits to farmers, and ensure moratorium periods and subsidies on aquaculture inputs especially fish feed.

    He added that government should make available soft loans to fish marketers to make farmed fish affordable to consumers, stressing that there is need to source a local fishmeal to replace the foreign fishmeal.

    President, Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association (LASCFA), Mr Femi Ajala, called on government to remove all tariffs on agricultural inputs such as extruders, fishmeal and plants, in effort to make locally produced fish feeds to compete favourably with imported ones.

    He said tariffs on fish meal which is key ingredients in the production of fish feeds should be removed.

    Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, Fishery Society of Nigeria, Habeeb Giwa, said the imported fish feeds means a lot of revenue and it drains our naira.

    Giwa called on the government to provide the facilities to produce fish feed in the country and urged other stakeholders to contribute to making the fish feed as cheap as possible.

  • Funds’ paucity, equipment hinder fish farming growth

    Lack of funds, fish drying machines and other equipment have been identified as factors affecting the SUTEX Fish Farm at Okongntekong Ete village in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

    The President of Ukpum Ete Youth Association, Comrade Ubong Essien, highlighted the challenges on the farm and appealed for government’s assistance when the state governor visited and inspected some basic facilities for skill acquisition development in the area. The Youth President urged the state government to come to their aid through provision of more capital  to accelerate efforts in training more youths in the area, and promised to be law abiding.

    Represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Skills Development Project Centre, Dr. Majorie Abasiodiong George, the governor congratulated youths from Ukpum Ete clan for pro-actively initiating lofty programmes that would engage youths meaningfully in the area.

    The governor advises youths to engage themselves in raising fish of all sorts, and engage in other skill developmental activities in order to stem the tide of unemployment in the state.

    George, who commended the leadership of Ukpum Ete Youth Association, thanked them for giving youths in the area a pride of place in skill acquisition and other developmental activities, adding that, she was impressed with the fact that, youths in the community did not fold their arms to wait for white collar jobs from the government, but make good use of their resources to establish a fish farm.

    She, however, called on youths in the area to support government programmes and shun acts capable of giving the community a bad image.

    She lauded the pragmatic efforts of the Managing Director of SUTEX Farm in establishing such farm in the community, adding that, the administration of Mr. Udom Emmanuel is interested in developing skills in youth on all sectors of the state’s economy.

  • Lagos to support fish farmers

    Lagos State Government has reaffirmed its support for fish farming in its bid to  the decline in supply of fish, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olajide Basorun, has said.

    At the closing of the 11th Annual Executive Training on Investment Opportunities in Fish Farming,  where 89 persons were trained in production techniques, Basorun said the state committed to facilitating capacity building for fish farmers and easy access to credit facilities.

    He said: “Government will continue to create enabling and conducive environment, facilitate capacity building and create ground for easy access to credit facility for fish farmers so as to reduce cost of production and enhance their profitability.”

    The Permanent Secretary explained that the reduction in fish supply is due to a number of factors, which includes pollution, high cost of fishing input and use of obnoxious fishing methods, rural urban drift and over fishing, among others.

    He noted that traditionally, Lagosians have always been fisher men, but over the years volume of fish caught has been dwindling;  thus prompting the state to introduce fish farming about 20years ago to address the dwindling supply.

    Basorun said the executive training on farming was conceived 11 years ago to expose participants to the new investment opportunities in the fisheries value chain and build capacities of practicing fish farming for enhanced productivity.

    The Permanent Secretary said food security is one of the cardinal programmes of the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, adding that strategies are in place to engender sustainable food production and ensure that the citizens are well fed.

    According to him, “one of the major principles of attaining food security is to look at those areas where we have comparative and competitive advantage and focus on them. One of those areas is aquaculture because over 22 per cent of the land mass of Lagos is covered by water and we have a 180-kilometer coastline”.

    Speaking earlier, the special guest of honour, who is a veteran fish farmer and a former Permanent Secretary in the state Civil Service, Mrs. Adedoyin Olusoga, said the downward trend in fish supply over the years has necessitated the massive importation of fish, adding that: “this is a big drain on the scarce foreign exchange, hence aquaculture or fish farming has been identified as the next viable option for increasing domestic fish production.”

    She said the state requires about 330,000  metric tonnes annually to satisfy the dietary needs of its citizen and the aggregate domestic fish supply from all sources is about 176,850 tonnes per annum.

    She added that the government has realised the huge potential for increasing fish production and has initiated developmental projects that make aquaculture popular and as a tool for sustainable fish production and employment creation.

  • Boosting fish production with integrated rice-fish farms

    Boosting fish production with integrated rice-fish farms

    There is growing interest in researches aimed at improving fish farming globally. Part of the outcome is integrated fish farming approach championed by the University of Ibadan (UI),which involves the use of earthen ponds to raise fish and rice, and using poultry and piggery wastes for fish production. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    To boost fish production,  the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University of Ibadan has introduced a technology known as fish-rice-pig-poultry integrated aquacul-ture.

    It involves the use of earthen ponds to raise fish and rice. It utilises the waste from, poultry, piggery and agriculture for fish production.

    At the end, the farmer benefits from meat, eggs, rice, and fish.

    The project occupies an expansive area. For farmers, students and researchers it is a model integrated fish farm with rice grown inside a fish pond. It has been drawing local and international tourists who come to see a demonstration farm where fish is cultivated and integrated with some agricultural products such as rice, pigs and poultry to optimise yields.

    Speaking on the farm, the Head of Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, Prof Bamidele Omitoyin, said the fish-rice-pig-poultry integrated aqua-culture project involves using ponds to raise fish and rice and using the waste from pigs and  poultry as  feed for fish. At the end, he said the practice reduces the cost of production and maximises streams of income for the farmer through sale of fish, rice, eggs and pigs.

    Omitoyin said the agriculture sector is faced with the challenges of producing more food for ever increasing population while simultaneously tackling issues of environment conservation and sustain-ability.

    Tackling these challenges,he added, has given impetus to the West and Central Africa Research for Agricultural Development (CORAF/WECARD)-sponsored project on the development of viable and sustainable integrated aquaculture systems with agriculture production for resource poor farmers.

    His words: “This project has two components, namely; Integrated Production of Fish and Rice cum Poultry and Integrated Production of Fish and Rice cum Pig.  The first component is led by a research team from the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University Ibadan in collaboration with Njala University in Sierra Leone and University of Beau in Cameroon. The second component which is also involves collaboration between the three institutions is led by the research team from Njala University, Sierra Leone. These projects are specifically designed to address the challenges related to decreases in capture-fisheries and the need for accelerated rice, poultry and pig production in West and Central Africa. It started in June 2013 and the project duration is three years. “

    According to him, the major regional target was to improve techniques on integrated crop-aquaculture-livestock production systems and subsequent up-scaling and out-scaling to countries of the West and Central Africa sub-region while the target beneficiaries are 600 integrated rice-aquaculture cum livestock farmers out of which 30 per cent  are women and youth.

    He said the approach gave birth to the establishment of two demonstration plots within the country. “Two adaptive research plots were established on the University of Ibadan fish farm, one for each of the components.”

    So far, he said over 500 farmers have been trained in Nigeria, exceeding the original 200 farmers expected to be trained in the project document for both components. Also,he said  over 700 hundred students have been trained through this process out of which 300 are females.

    Explaining the  reason for growing rice inside a fish pond, Omitoyin said the rice that is  planted  inside the fish  pond  benefits from nutrients which come from fish excreta. In addition, he said the aquatic weeds of rice also get reduced due to fish presence.  In turn, he said the fish benefits from the favourable micro climate created by the presence of rice plants. However, he said rice requires nutrients in the form of inorganic fertilisers which the fish waste provides whereas fish needs nutrients in the form of organic form. The essence of integrating them, he explained, is to allow the circulation of nutrients in different forms.

    He said poultry litter from the poultry farm is recycled into fish pond. The droppings of poultry birds, he added are used to fertilise the pond. To achieve this, he said the chicken waste from the poultry unit built near the pond is washed down through the delivery channel as organic fertiliser for the growing of rice. This, he added, helps farmers to avoid spending money in buying chemical fertiliser.

    The ponds also receive pig dung. This waste, he explained acts as excellent pond fertiliser and raises the biological productivity of the pond and consequently increases fish production and boost rice growth. To help the process, the pigsties are constructed in such a way that the washings are drained to the pond through a delivery channel.

    Omitoyin said the project could be started on one acre of land. He said would- be fish farmers will be taught to integrate rice with fish, poultry or piggery to increase production of yields. This model, according to him, would help farmers to realise so much profit from their investment than running a simple fish farm.

    Because of the success of the project, UI invites stakeholders and farmers to come and see the demonstration farm. The farm is used to train extension officers, farmers and students on aquaculture. Agriculture and fisheries students also go to the farm for school attachment.

    Omitoyin noted however, that space, labour and capital must be integrated and properly utilisfor optimum farm output.

    He stated that fisheries and aquaculture is a big source of incom, and added that there are lots of business opportunities in fish farming.

    The farm is part of the one million United States Dollars CORAF/WECARD project meant for University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Njala University in Sierra Leone and Buea University of Cameroon. Some of the project activities include: rehabilitation and re-stocking of abandoned ponds; develop capacity in sustainable integrated aquaculture techniques and tackle poverty and unemployment among poor vulnerable especially women and children.

    In one of the fora, the university’s WECARD training grant coordinator, Prof Emmanuel Ajani said the research into integrated farming was farmer-generated and meant to tackle challenges of monoculture source of income to farmers.

    He revealed that based on the success of the research into and implementation of findings of the aquaculture integration, the department had been called upon to train 5,000 farmers in Nigeria in the art of poultry-fishery-rice or pig-fishery-rice integration depending on demand.

    “This integrated farming has been helping and will continue to help alleviate poverty and create wealth, as well as employment,” Ajani said.

    The project cover sustainable integrated pond-based aquaculture with rice and poultry production and economic, social and environmental assessment. It deals with poverty eradication and grassroots empowerment through sustainable integrated aquaculture development: fish and rice cum piggery production. The projects are expected to boost fish production in Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

    It is expected that when the 1million US dollar project ends after 3 years, enough information on integrated fish-poultry-pig and rice farming will be available to help government and other institutions develop this vital poverty alleviation sector.

    The project have three main components, “the development of suitable integrated fish-rice-poultry production technology through participatory research, expansion of the integrated aquaculture production in a community based demonstration plot and institutional strengthening and integrated capacity building of all stakeholders.

    The Project Director, Dr. Olapade Oluwafemi Julius said the essence of the project is to reduce poverty amongst grassroots dwellers.

    Meanwhile, a  profitability  study  on Integrated Aquaculture with Rice and Poultry Production in West and Central Africa (SIARP-ESEA project) conducted  by  the  university  showed that Integrated fish farming is more profitable than unitary system of farming as it ensures a spread of financial risk for its varied and diversified nature in rearing of fish, animals and crops;

    A Comparative analysis of biological productivity and yield of Integrated Aquaculture system (IAS) with conventional fish pond system showed that mean Food Conversion Ratio and Specific Growth Rate of 1.90± 0.18; 3.96±1.02 (convectional system) and 1.25±0.22; 3.16±0.29 (IAS) were recorded respectively. The total yield of rice harvested after 12 weeks in the paddy area of the pond in IAS was 20kg which can be extrapolated to 3.3tonne/hectare. Extrapolated figures between 1.63t/ha and 2.3t/ha was recorded in conventional system of rice production. Mean egg production of 52±1.50eggs per day and 53±1.0eggs per day were obtained in IAS and convectional system respectively. Water was about 17 times more efficiently utilized by integrated system of rice production than conventional irrigation system. Mean phytoplankton recorded in unfertilised pond was 12.71x 106/l, while 78.18X106/l was recorded after 12 weeks manure loading. Mean zooplankton population in the unfertilised pond was 15.4X106l, and 67.4X106 after 12 weeks of manure loading.

    Four adopted schools have been selected for the project intervention in Nigeria with infrastructure almost at 80 per cent completion in two of the selected adopted schools.

    The project has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria) on fingerlings multiplication and dissemination of the integrated fish farming across twelve states in Nigeria;

  • Curbing fish wastage through smoking technology

    Curbing fish wastage through smoking technology

     Fish is a staple food vital for good health. But the challenge for fish farmers is storage after harvest to enable them sell. Following this, there is a campaign to introduce smoked fish technology to prevent spoilage and help farmers earn more income. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    F Phil Onuoha has his way, all his fishes will be smoked. This followed dwindling sales, he suffered selling fish fresh.

    A hardworking and dedicated fish farmer, Onuoha prefers selling his fish fresh from the pond.

    The challenge however is that fresh fish can’t hold long periods of time.  Though consumers prefer fresh fish, his challenges are transportation and storage facilities to keep it in a condition that can still be sold after moving them from the ponds.

    For him and other farmers, transportation of live fish to the markets requires investment in trucks with fish holding cages.

    While long distance transport of fresh fish further requires ice or trucks with cooling devices, the road from his farm  to  the  market  is  bad during certain seasons.

    In Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, where his farms are located, transporting fresh or live fish to rural markets was not feasible .

    Besides, being expensive, it takes him time to move fish to central  Lagos   where consumers are willing and able to pay higher prices.

    Not able to do direct marketing, he has to contend with  market  women  who come  to buy  on  the farm.

    Onuoha  said  the  women  would  always  want  him  to sell at a price that is not profitable and  to  serve  as major  link  to  the  market.

    While lowering the price will enable him  to  sell  more, he  said it  makes no  sense economically to do so.

    As a result, sale at most  times  is  often   poor  after harvest. Besides, he explained that  the    fish industry is prone to seasonal fluctuations in demand.

    In most cases, fluctuations in  demand  is taken care  of by  processing.

    According  to him, selling fish is a high-risk business, as they go bad very quickly, so they have to do whatever they  can to reduce the risk.

    The option  for him is  smoking. After harvest, he  smokes the fish within the farm. This helps  him  to  control  supply to the market, stabilise prices and reduce  waste.

    So far, he is making gains. His customers are aware he sells smoked fish. Also, consumers’ preferences for taste and price are taken care of.

    Although modern preservation technologies would simplify their processes and would enable them to sell fresh fish, them can’t  afford to buy  cold  storage  equipment which cost run into millions of naira.

    For such, smoking  fish  may  be  the way  to go.

    He said  small-scale fish traders  invest significant time and effort to preserve their stocks using traditional methods before they sell it.

    To  experts,  kilns  used for  traditional smoking involves burning wood which leads to a variety of problems.

    Aside producing  more greenhouse gas pollution , it  releases contaminants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are hazardous to the human respiratory system.

    Farmers, also  suffer  from intense heat  that  affect their  health.

    The campaign now is to get more farmers introduced to smoking kiln technology that improve processing by reducing the smoke level to internationally acceptable standards.

    One of the organisations promoting  this is  the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP).

    WAAPP  has resolved  not    to  strengthen  fisheries  but  to  support   technology transfer  through  universities  and research  institutes.

    WAAPP-Nigeria National Project Coordinator, Prof. Damian  Chikwendu  said the  priority focus of the project  in Nigeria include aquaculture, poultry, cassava, maize, and rice among others.

    He said WAAPP-Nigeria is   committed to doing anything possible to promote aquaculture.

    In this regard, he  said  the National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR), New Bussa, Niger State is emerging into a National Center of Specialisation in Aquaculture. The objective, according to him,  is to develop and release top notch technologies in aquaculture for adoption in Nigeria and Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) countries to increase productivity.

    Chikwendusaid  the  programme is also supporting the smoked fish  project at  the  institute.

    Another institution also involved in this campaign is University of Ibadan,(UI).

    In its  Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management are specialists in aquaculture development .

    The  department  conducts  market research and provide  fish farmers  with business management support. It also  provides  technical assistance to visiting farmers.

    Speaking while receiving World Bank WAAPP  team at the university, its Head of Department, Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, Prof Bamidele Omitoyin  said the school is  training  students  on smoked fish technology.

    In addition, he  said  farmers  are  trained  to process fish free from benzo-a pyrene considered hazardous to health.  The facilities in the department, he maintained,  has  the capacity to smoke one tonne per batch within 24hours, adding that UI has all it takes to deliver services in areas of aquaculture.

    The university fish farm, for instance, he noted is well positioned to deliver dividends in aquaculture research while essential infrastructure are also on ground to support research and production activities in the animal sciences.

    At  the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIMOR) ,Lagos, the  World Bank WAAPP Task Team Leader ,DrAbdoulayeTouré  said  access to smoked  technology is making real change possible for  fish farmers .

    With the support of  WAAPP, he  said  NIMOR  has  trained entrepreneurs on modern fish smoking technology and introduced an industrial fish smoking kiln fabricated by the institute.

    He  said the improved fish smoking project aimed to catalyse the development of sustainable value chain fish smoking improving energy efficiency and supply.

    He  reiterated  that  WAAPP   is implementing a regional fisheries strategy aimed at improving the sustainable regional supply of fish and fishery products. The programme has five different result areas, the fifth one being food security, which primarily focuses on the implementation of activities, geared at reducing post-harvest fish losses that occur in small-scale fisheries.

    In line with   this,  NIOMR  Executive Director, DrGbolahamAkande has urged cat fish farmers to embrace canning as a means of preserving their products.

    He said cat fish farmers were recording losses due to poor  preservation and lack of value chain, adding  that canning would boost the income of the fish farmers.

    “Canning the catfish will create value and increase the income of farmers. Instead of selling fishes unprocessed and at ridiculous prices, farmers  should either smoke or can them to enhance their profit,” he said.

    According to Akande, canned catfish   would compete favourably with the imported  canned products  such as Geisha and Sardine and  also has the potential to become an export product for  the country.

    Its  Head of Extension and Media Relations, Dr. Mabel Yarhere, said that the Catfish Canning Innovation Platform (CCIP) project was sponsored by the Forum for African Agricultural Research with $100,000 (N19.7 million)

    She said the fund was to support research, processing, market survey, mobilisation of farmers and launching   various stage  of the project within nine months.

    According to her, farmers in the Southwest zone have been mobilised and empowered to embrace the project.

    “We have assisted the farmers with fingerlings and feeds to boost catfish production as a step towards the success of the CCIP,” she said, adding that the platform was connecting co-operative societies to  commercial banks, which would give them loans to drive their active participation in the projects.

    Remarking that the CCIP project was a platform set on a stable ground and would create an open market for existing farmers and aspiring ones, she expressed delight that some of the farmers were already setting up canneries through sponsorship by state governments.

    She assured of the safety of consuming canned catfish as it has no health implications.

    “We have followed the international best practices as specified by FAO from primary production to finished products. We have worked with various local and international regulatory agencies to ensure quality,” she said.

    To  support the  Federal Government’s  move to increase fish  production, the   National Association of Fish Farmers in Kebbi State said  it will partner with the state SURE-P on the establishment of fingerlings production centre and packaging of fish after harvest.

    Its Chairman, Alhaji Hussaini Raha, said the association would also partner with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa, on the management of fish farms.

    Raha said an update of the membership records revealed 12,050 members located in Argungu, BirninKebbi, Bunza, Bagudo, Shanga, Yauri and Ngaski local government areas, producing tilapia and catfish.

    According to him, the association has also registered 9,000 artisans and 300 cooperative societies.

    He said that the association would strive to meet international standard in the production of smoked and fresh fish.

     

  • ‘Nigeria’s blue revolution capable of reducing N125b fish import’

    Professor of Fisheries, Martins Antekhai  has said the fisheries sector is heading for a complete turnover with the blue revolution plan as multinational companies respond to  government’s call to join  the campaign to reduce the N125 billion annual fish import bill.

    Antekhai, who is of the Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University,  said  the decision of fisheries multinationals to cut down on imports and embrace aquaculture will play a big role in increasing national fish production, thereby creating  more jobs for Nigerians.

    He said a lot of investors are going to tap into the vast unutilised land and inland water resources to address the shortage of quality fish seeds, adding that it will give a boost to the sector.

    While the approach is going to deliver increased profitability in the long run, the don said reducing importation on the other hand will lead to the development of a virile fish export industry.

    Already, Antekhai added that the level of fish consumption is big enough to support aquaculture.

    In tandem with the Agriculture Transformation Agenda, Triton Aqua Africa Limited commenced its local harvest at Iwo, Osun State.

    Its Director of Production, Mr. Yashpal Jain said the firm is going into local production in a bid to reduce fish imports for which the company has been involved.

    Jain said the pilot phase of the project is located in Iwo, where it already had a poultry project in the past, but added that for the aquaculture scheme, additional 25 acres of land had to be secured.

    The pilot stage at Iwo, Jain explained, is growing the African catfish of the Clarias Gariepinus species in ponds as big as two standard plots of land for one.

    Overall, two large earthen ponds with the dimension of 100m x 80m, six of 100m x 40m and four nursing ponds of 80m x 25m are expected when the pilot fish farm infrastructure is completed.

    For Tilapia, he said though cages in which they are kept are expensive and usually imported, the company would source and fabricate locally such number as would be needed in the course of establishing the farms.

    From the existing ponds, 40 tonnes of catfish is expected at this instance; however, Jain explained that 2.2 cropping can be done in a year and would amount to 88 tonnes of full capacity at this stage.

    Chief Executive Officer, Raju Santani said Triton Group, which came into business in the country in 1995 owns a two-million catfish fingerling capacity hatchery in Ikeja, Lagos State from where it sourced the stock for the Iwo project.

    Santani said about $65million is planned for investment in catfish and tilapia production in the next five years to complement efforts of government to grow the local fisheries sector and create more job opportunities in Nigeria.

    He said the plan is to establish fish farms for both tilapia and catfish in different parts of the country. For this reason, various state governments were approached to partner with the company to grow fish, provide jobs and boost the economy.

    For instance, Oyo, Ogun, Kwara and Ekiti states have been approached with applications, for working relationship that would release water bodies like in the various Water Basins and dams for fisheries activities.

    The Tilapia to be farmed is specially improved breed, the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT), which he said are getting wider acceptability worldwide.

  • Reviving plunging fish stocks

    Reviving plunging fish stocks

    Decline in the wild fish catches nationwide, and the partial ban on fish importation has stimulated the expansion of fish farming in Lagos. This is part of an intensive effort to boost  food  production  through  aquaculture. The move is also receiving  private  sector  support. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Fish, has for long, been generally agreed to provide the cheapest source of protein for the human race, especially in poor countries- Nigeria inclusive. But the increasing cost of the product is gradually changing this assumption, at least in the country. Stakeholders in the fish business blame the rising cost on the difficulty in sourcing this product, especially in the wild, and also the laws bordering on fishing in international waters. Another factor for the rising cost of fish in the domestic market is the consequence of years of over-fishing in the wild- oceans, lagoon, seas, et al; which has left the nation with a growing gap between the amount of fish that can be harvested and the needs of its burgeoning population.

    For instance, Director of Fisheries in the Ministry  of  Agriculture and  Cooperatives Mrs Olatokunbo  Emokpae revealed that the  consumption of fish in Lagos has risen to 260,000 tonnes annually, a far cry from what the industry provides, estimated to be 159,000 tonnes. Of this figure, aquaculture farming contributes a meagre 36,000 tonnes, while catches from the wild and importation account for the remaining number.

    Speaking  during  a  workshop on fish cage culture techniques, organised by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme  (WAAPP), Green Agriculture West  Africa Limited (GAWAL)  and the  Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority(LASADA), in Lagos, Mrs  Emokpae stated  that  the  situation  has brought crucial challenges like consistency of supply and much lower consumer prices. and with the catches from the wild depleting, she submitted that the industry needs to take measures to  ensure continuous supply of fish.

    This brings to the fore, aquaculture- the practice of using controlled environments to promote the growth of aquatic animals and plants for food, the aquarium trade, restocking or commercial purposes. Currently, it  contributes over 50 per cent of the world’s fish supply for human consumption, making it an important contributor to the world’s food supply chain.

    With the seafood farming industry facing growing pains, Mrs  Emokpae said  the  government is  determined  to promote fish farming to  help satisfy the growing appetite for fish and seafood.

    Currently, shrimp, pangasius, tilapia, and catfish  are the most common species of farmed seafood.

    For her, a dramatic growth in aquaculture  will  enable per capita consumption of aquatic protein and plants to increase over time without further taxing wild species.

    Presently,production is primarily accomplished by small-scale farmers, while there are  few  large  producers utilise more intensive, factory-farm methods.

    The potential for aquaculture, she noted,  is considerable as Lagos  has the long coastline and could advance as a major producer of farmed fish. She noted,  however, that  aquaculture is not   growing so rapidly following inability  of  more  people  to invest in  it.

    With food security becoming   a pressing issue, she noted  that  the  state is  ready   to use every resource available as efficiently as possible in order to feed its population and  that further investment in aquaculture, sooner rather than later, is critical.

    To this end, she said  the state  is  promoting   cage culture – a type of fish production where the fish is held captive by net  in some big water areas, as  an essential part of the solution to food security.

    The Programme Manager, LASADA, Mr  Kayode  Ashafa, also  lend his  voice  to this, saying   fish production needs to increase  to meet growing  demand.

    Represented by  the Head of Technical Services, Mr Abayomi  Babalola, Ashafa  said Lagos is characterised by a maze of lagoon and watersways which constitutes about 22 per cent of the state’s territory.These  water bodies, he said, provide empowerment and food to Nigerians but that there is a  major gap in fish demand and supply.

    He noted, however, that the state’s  rivers have been fished to their limit, as such it should encourage sustainable growth of aquaculture or fish farms.

    Ashafa reiterated that the state had embarked on many agricultural development projects towards addressing and reducing poverty.

    The National Project Coordinator, WAAPP, Prof Damian Chikwendu  said  Nigeria needs to farm more fish to meet growing demand for animal products.

    Chikwendu, who spoke through Fisheries Specialist, Charity  Obetta  said the programme is exploring aquaculture to meet the growing demand for fish  products, adding  that  cape  culture  is  a pragmatic response to the precipitous decline in fish stocks.

    By committing to improved aquaculture practices, he said farmers countries can deliver nutritious fish to more Nigerians.

    To improve the industry, Chikwendu  said the  programme  is  collaborating  with  LASADA  to  train  farmers  on cage culture  as it  has enormous potential to enhance   fish production in an environmentally sound and sustainable way .

    He said  the  objective of WAAPP is to increase agricultural productivity and promote sub-regional cooperation. Since Nigeria has comparative  advantage in aquaculture, he said  WAAPP  has  chosen  the  country  as a centre  of  excellence .

    The  Deputy General Manager, GAWAL, Prof Xu Yuanfang,said  fish farming is the answer to increasing meat demand.

    He  said GAWAL was established  by CGC Nigeria Limited in 2006 to enhance the productivity of grain production through local research ,development, cooperation and partnerships. Since its inception, he said the  company has introduced hybrid millet, groundnet, sorghum seeds, which have boosted yields in its 2025-hectare farm in Kebbi State. Based on the past trends of aquaculture, he noted that the method was going to make a major contribution to meet increased demand for fish through aquaculture. The advantages of cage culture, according  to him  of fish is that  it enables higher stocking rates and consequently, higher production per unit volume. The raising of fish in cages also reduces the risk of predation by carnivorous fish and other animals.  In contrast to natural fishing, where fishermen have to depend on chance, experts   believe  raising fish in cages enables a predictable and more assured source of income.

    Those who  agree include  the  Head of Component (Extension), LASADA, George Tanimowo. To  him, aquaculture holds the promise of reducing the need to catch wild fish. For this reason, he said the state is  introducing   cage culture fish farming that  offers promise for  lagosians with far-reaching implications for  commercial fish industry, and for food supplies, considering   tremendous growth in consumer demand.  So  far, Lagos  State has  also been exploring   the potential for fish production through fish culture in ponds, cages and pens, with suitable species of fish. The   government  is   encouraging  the setting up of aquaculture farms to  ensure an abundant supply of species of fish that are most in demand.

    Interestly , the   efforts of the state  is not  unnoticed   as  industry players  have  welcomed  the initiative.

    A lot  of private  organisations  see  the stage set  for  fish  farming revolution  is ready to work with the state to boost the  production of  tilapia and catfish.

    One of them is  Triton Group ,a global  conglomerate, spread across the  countries.  It was founded in 1995 in Nigeria. Globally, the   group have  around 900 employee and   current revenue is $ 600 million. Its subsidiary, Seafood products Limited, is  involved  in aquaculture, which  is  seen as the fastest growing food-producing industry in the world, and has great potential in Nigeria. Its  Project Director,Seafood products Limited,Mr  Yashpal Jain  said aquaculture holds the promise of reducing the need to catch wild fish having  having  established  successfully  aquaculture  practice in India and Ghana.

    In Ghana, he said the  company  has   240 grow out cages and 48 nursery cages with a capacity of 2,400 metric tonnes (MT) of Tilapia, with  complete infrastructure such as hatchery, ice plant, processing shed, cold store .

    In addition to this, he said  the  company  has established  state of art tilapia hatchery with a capacity to produce 18 million fingerlings.

    Keen  to  reproduce  it  success in Nigeria,  the  company  is coming up with good-aquaculture-practice fish farms   for  Lagos,Oyo ,Ekiti, and Ogun states.

    Apart from  the  proposed  fish  farms helping  to  alleviate pressure on declining wild fish stocks, aiding, economic development, employment, and the preservation of precious groundwater resources, he  said  local  farmers  will  have  access to reliable local source of fingerlings, quality feed, and technical know-how, by attending demonstration farms, to help them improve their efficiency and profitability.

    Because  of  aquaculture,  he   said  fish is the cheapest source in Egypt for animal protein, cheaper than poultry, cheaper than beef and goat meat.

    Tilapia, for example, retails for the equivalent of approximately US$1.20 to US$2.40 per kilo in Egypt, while beef and goat can cost up to approximately US$12 per kilo.

  • Fish demands hits 260,000 tonnes yearly in Lagos

    The  consumption of fish has risen in Lagos,hitting 260,000 tonnes. Of this, the industry  provides  159,000 tonnes.

    Director of Fisheries in the Ministry  of  Agriculture and  Cooperatives Mrs Olatokunbo  Emokpae said  aquaculture contributes 36,000 tonnes of the consumed fish.

    She spoke at a workshop on fish cage culture techniques, organised by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme  (WAAPP), Green Agriculture West  Africa Limited (GAWAL)  and the  Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority(LASADA), in Lagos.

    With the captured  fishery resources dwindling, she said  the  industry needs to take measures to  ensure continuous supply of fish.

    She said aquaculture—or fish farming—would  help satisfy the growing appetite for fish and seafood.

    Mrs Emokpae said Lagos is bestowed many natural resources for developing marine, brackish water and inland fisheries. Presently, she  said  aquaculture holds importance, since enhanced fish production is the key for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation.

    She   lamented the low level of   investment in aquaculture, calling  for more  Nigerians to invest in better fisheries management and environmentally sustainable aquaculture.

    According to her,  cage culture – a type of fish production where the fish is held captive by net  in some big water area, is an essential part of the solution to global food security.

    The Programme Manager, LASADA, Mr  Kayode  Ashafa,  said   fish production needs to increase   to meet that demand.

    Represented by  the Head of Technical Services, Mr Abayomi  Babalola, Ashafa  said Lagos is characterised by a maze of lagoon and watersways which constitutes about 22 per cent of the state’s territory.

    This water bodies, he said, provide empowerment and food to Nigerians but that there is a  major gap in fish demand and supply.

    He noted, however, that the  state’s  rivers have been fished to their limit, as such it should encourage sustainable growth of aquaculture or fish farms.

    Ashafa reiterated that the state  had embarked on many agricultural development projects towards addressing and reducing poverty.

    The National Project Coordinator, WAAPP, Prof Damian Chikwendu  said  Nigeria needs to farm more fish to meet growing demand for animal products.

    Chikwendu, who  spoke through Fisheries Specialist, Charity  Obetta  said the programme is exploring aquaculture to meet the growing demand for fish  products, adding  that  cape  culture  is  a pragmatic response to the precipitous decline in fish stocks.

    By committing to improved aquaculture practices, he said farmers countries can deliver nutritious fish to more Nigerians.

    To improve the industry, Chikwendu  said the  programme  is  collaborating  with  LASADA  to  train  farmers  on cage culture  as it  has enormous potential to enhance   fish production in an environmentally sound and sustainable way .

    He said  the  objective of WAAPP is to increase agricultural productivity and promote sub-regional cooperation.

    Since Nigeria has comparative  advantage in aquaculture, he said  WAAPP  has  chosen  the  country  as a centre  of  excellence .

    The  Deputy General Manager, GAWAL, Prof Xu Yuanfang,said  fish farming is the answer to increasing meat demand.

    He  said GAWAL was established  by CGC Nigeria Limited in 2006 to enhance the productivity of grain production through local research ,development, cooperation and partnerships.

    Since its inception, he said the  company has introduced hybrid millet, groundnet, sorghum seeds, which have boosted yields in its 2025-hectare farm in Kebbi State.

    Based on the past trends of aquaculture, he noted that the method was going to make a major contribution to meet increased  demand for fish through  aquaculture.

     

  • Nigeria on self-sufficiency path in fish production

    The Board Chairman, International Fish Resources Park (IFRP), Mr Olusegun Mogbojuri, has said Nigeria is on a sure path to becoming self-sufficient in fish production.

    Mogbojuri, who spoke in Abuja, said the organisation had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    He said as part of the agreement, fish resources parks would be established in each of the six geopolitical zones. Mogbojuri put the capacity of each park to be established at 2,500 to 3,000 factories with a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of fish when fully operational.

    Mogbojuri, who is also the Agricultural Attache to the Consulate of Malta in Nigeria, said the parks would empower no fewer than one million persons as they would simplify aquaculture for the citizens to produce fish in a secured environment.

    He said while oil spill in the Niger-Delta region was being tackled, other technologies that could guarantee sufficient production would be introduced via the park initiative.

    According to the chairman, the park initiative was a mandate from Malta’s Consul to Nigeria in order to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries.

    He said Malta as a maritime nation, had expertise in maritime and fisheries which Nigeria could benefit from.

    He said some multinationals, including IES-GMB of Germany had offered to finance the project in Nigeria with two billion Euros, adding that more financiers could be accommodated so as to fully develop the fishery sub-sector.

    Mogbojuri commended the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal College of Fisheries, Lagos, and the University of Abuja for their contributions to maritime and fisheries.

    He further said that the IFRP provide modern teaching and research facilities that could help to upscale  technology in the institutions.

    “I am excited; looking forward to more achievement as Nigeria is on the path to join league of nations that are self-sufficient in fish production’’, he said.

  • ‘How to boost fish production’

    ‘How to boost fish production’

    Smallholder farmers can raise agricultural productivity and meet food security, livelihood needs and environmental objectives by adopting sustainable agriculture approaches, an industrialist, Tolu Olatunbosun has  said.

    According  to him,   adoption of sustainable approaches towards  fisheries   production will provide smallholder farmers with all that is needed to escape poverty and hunger.

    Speaking during an evaluation tour by West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme-Nigeria (WAAPP-Nigeria) in Enugu, Olatunbosun, Chief Executive, R Fisheries Nigeria said the promotion of sustainable aquaculture become necessary with increasing demand for sea food, adding that the programme support for the local fisheries industry may lead to growth and development of higher yielding varieties.

    He noted that the support of WAAPP Nigeria has helped  farmers enhance their productivity, a result which is already having a significant impact.

    With the support of the programme, he said farmers are benefiting from research and technology transfer and this has boosted the resilience of farming communities.

    According to him, farmers benefit from training, study tours, knowledge exchanges between stakeholders, and equipment prototypes which help strengthen their technical capacities.

    He urged farmers in Enugu to maximise the provision of subsided fingerlings by WAAPP-Nigeria.

    He said his company has delivered over 2,000 fingerlings to boost farmers productivity in the last one year. According to him “we have created more jobs in the fisheries industry by distributing  improved breeds to over one hundred farmers through our partnership with the world bank funding made  available to us through WAAPP.” “I urge farmers to register with the agricultural development programme (ADP) to enjoy these benefits’’, he added.

    Also,WAAPP-Nigeria Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Hassan Isah, told reporters that  the scheme is partnering with over 23 private hatcheries in the country to distribute fingerlings and brood stock to farmers and young Nigerians who would  want to make a living out of fisheries. “We partner with the ADPS in various states to get the fishes and sometimes funds  to the rural people. The ADPS are closer to the farmers as such orientate  within the six months of rearing the fingerlings”.

    One of the beneficiaries, James Uzodufa who rears about 1000 fishes, said the business is lucrative as he intends to sell a fish for N1,000 this yuletide.

    He however called on the state government to make more land accessible to farmers in order to encourage the enterprise which  is  requires space for expansion.