New Technology to Help Nigeria Meet Fish Demand

The Federal Government has deployed a simple but "proven" technology to encourage private fish farmers master the art of fingerling production and hatchery in a bid to boost local fish production which presently stands at 600,000 metric tonnes per annum whereas the nation's fish demand is about 2.66 million metric tonnes.

To meet up the shortfall in fish demand,  statistics indicates that Nigeria spends over N50 billion annually on importation of frozen fish into the country. This is  irrespective of the fact that the nation has abundant resources to not only meet its fish protein needs,  but also take a sizeable chunk of fish export in Africa, valued at over US$500 million in 2008.

Director of Fisheries in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Mr. A.V. Amire, made this known at the weekend in a key note address he presented at a workshop on fingerling production held at Monick Catfish Farm, Umueze Abayi Aba, Abia state, which is among the fingerling production centres set up by the Federal Government.

The director whose address was read by the Chief Fisheries Officer, Mr. Obinna Anozie, said that President Umar Musa Yar'Adua was already putting in place "appropriate policy and institutional frame work to reduce the huge import bill on fish by promoting local production of fish."

According to him, "The Federal Government has realised that a way forward to ensure self-sufficiency in fish production is the  development of the country's immense potential in aquaculture in addition to the marine coastal and offshore fisheries resources."

To carry out the presidential policy on fish production, the federal department of fisheries has, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and private fish farmers, packaged a nationwide training in workshop on fingerling production in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In his remarks,  the president of Catfish Abia State Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Chief Maurice Eboh, noted that fish farming was yet to make a headway as the real fish farmers had been left to suffer as "political fish farmers" always hijack every intervention fund made available by government.

Eboh, who is also the chief executive of Catfish Consultants Nigeria Limited, suggested that the Federal Government should harmonise the programmes of poverty alleviation and agricultural bank to target fish farmers and in so doing achieve a dual purpose of self sufficiency in fish production and employment generation.

Chief Executive of Monick Catfish Farm, Lady Monica U. Orji, commended President Yar'Adua for his thoughtfulness in remembering the masses by deeming it fit to increase protein consumption by enhancing fish production in the country thereby chasing out malnutrition and kwashiorkor in the land.