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Fish farmers seek help
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Fish farmers in Nigeria have called on the government to support them with modern equipment as well financial assistance to enable them increase their production capacity.
Nigeria is the largest African aquaculture producer, with production output of over 15,489 tonnes per annum. This is closely followed by Egypt with output of about 5645 tonnes. Only five other countries: Zambia, Madagascar, Togo, Kenya and Sudan produce more than 1000 tonnes each. However, Nigeria imports about 560,000 tonnes of fish estimated at about $400 million annually.
Annual domestic fish supply in Nigeria stands at about 400,000 tonnes. The fisheries sector accounts for about two percent of national GDP, 40 percent of the animal protein intake and a substantial proportion of employment, especially in the rural areas. The sector is a principal source of livelihood for over three million people.
William Aderonpe, immediate past Chairman, Lagos State Catfish Farmers Association (LASCAFAN), who spoke to BusinessDay in an interview said “the state’s ministries of agriculture should assist fish farmers by providing easy access to land, giving them farm inputs in kind through the local government.”
“The world food situation is now at a critical stage because of the threat of food shortage. As a result, countries have started to limit export of their agricultural products.The government through investment in agricultural development banks can give financial support to fish farmers using appropriate policy guidelines that will be for aquaculture. In the past, government policy statement to this end did not achieve the desired result because it lacked the political will and administrative follow –up.”
In Nigeria , rearing of African catfish has proven to be a lucrative option for small-scale inland fisheries. Whereas the country’s demand for fish is certainly greater than total production from domestic sources – as imports account for about 50 per cent of local consumption - the country is still largely dependent on small-scale fish farmers for domestic supply. As a result, artisan fishery has continued to dominate the country’s fishery sector, contributing over 85 percent of total fish production.
BusinessDay investigations reveal that artisan fish farming in Nigeria has been driven largely by social and economic objectives, such as nutrition improvement in rural areas, generation of supplementary income, diversification of income, and creation of employment. This is especially true in rural communities, where opportunities for economic activities are limited. Only in recent years has fish farming been viewed as an activity likely to meet national shortfalls in fish supplies, thereby reducing fish imports.
This, experts say, accounts for the reason why aquaculture potentials have remained untapped as much as deep-sea fisheries. They contend that the combined potential of the fisheries resources -freshwater, marine and aquaculture - can meet over 90 percent of the nation’s demand for fish while opportunities for investments exist in the various sub-sectors, especially in the areas of storage, processing and preservation for the capture fishery and fish seed multiplication for aquaculture.
Nigeria is the largest African aquaculture producer, with production output of over 15,489 tonnes per annum. This is closely followed by Egypt with output of about 5645 tonnes. Only five other countries: Zambia, Madagascar, Togo, Kenya and Sudan produce more than 1000 tonnes each. However, Nigeria imports about 560,000 tonnes of fish estimated at about $400 million annually.
Annual domestic fish supply in Nigeria stands at about 400,000 tonnes. The fisheries sector accounts for about two percent of national GDP, 40 percent of the animal protein intake and a substantial proportion of employment, especially in the rural areas. The sector is a principal source of livelihood for over three million people.
William Aderonpe, immediate past Chairman, Lagos State Catfish Farmers Association (LASCAFAN), who spoke to BusinessDay in an interview said “the state’s ministries of agriculture should assist fish farmers by providing easy access to land, giving them farm inputs in kind through the local government.”
“The world food situation is now at a critical stage because of the threat of food shortage. As a result, countries have started to limit export of their agricultural products.The government through investment in agricultural development banks can give financial support to fish farmers using appropriate policy guidelines that will be for aquaculture. In the past, government policy statement to this end did not achieve the desired result because it lacked the political will and administrative follow –up.”
In Nigeria , rearing of African catfish has proven to be a lucrative option for small-scale inland fisheries. Whereas the country’s demand for fish is certainly greater than total production from domestic sources – as imports account for about 50 per cent of local consumption - the country is still largely dependent on small-scale fish farmers for domestic supply. As a result, artisan fishery has continued to dominate the country’s fishery sector, contributing over 85 percent of total fish production.
BusinessDay investigations reveal that artisan fish farming in Nigeria has been driven largely by social and economic objectives, such as nutrition improvement in rural areas, generation of supplementary income, diversification of income, and creation of employment. This is especially true in rural communities, where opportunities for economic activities are limited. Only in recent years has fish farming been viewed as an activity likely to meet national shortfalls in fish supplies, thereby reducing fish imports.
This, experts say, accounts for the reason why aquaculture potentials have remained untapped as much as deep-sea fisheries. They contend that the combined potential of the fisheries resources -freshwater, marine and aquaculture - can meet over 90 percent of the nation’s demand for fish while opportunities for investments exist in the various sub-sectors, especially in the areas of storage, processing and preservation for the capture fishery and fish seed multiplication for aquaculture.
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