Forty fish farmers from Ogun State have been selected to benefit from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) pilot program, which will see each chosen farmer receive financial support ranging from N2.5 million to N5 million to expand their fish farming operations and increase production.
The FAO representative in Nigeria and West Africa, Koffy Kouacou, made this known during the inauguration of Scaling Fish Farming through Finance (Access to input finance under the FISH4ACP project) at the Eriwe fish farming cluster in the Odogbolu Local Government area of Ogun State.
Kouacou explained that the project, funded by the European Union in collaboration with other development partners, such as the GIZ and the state and Federal governments, is primarily to make funding more accessible for fish farmers and boost fish production in the country.
Kouacou further disclosed that the essence of this initiative is to strengthen fish farmers’ capacity to produce more fish locally, create more business opportunities in aquaculture, and help end fish imports in the country.
Kouacou explained that Nigeria needs about 3.2 million metric tonnes of fish annually but produces 1.2 million metric tonnes, leaving a deficit of 2 million metric tonnes per annum.
“To bridge this gap, we have to support fish farming in Nigeria, and, at FAO, our mandate is to help the government to overcome this challenge and achieve zero hunger.
“So we are here at Eriwe fish cluster in collaboration with both Ogun and Federal Government, the GIZ, the EU delegation in the country and the partnering financial institutions to launch this project that will help the farmers to access required finance to upscale their fish farming business and cover the deficit of fish production in the country.
“We are starting the pilot project with 40 farmers, and this is a call for action for more financial institutions to come on board with the partnership to achieve zero import of fish. Like I said, we are supporting 40 pilot farmers and each will receive between N2.5m and N5m, so in all we should be looking at providing N200m support for these farmers,” he said.
Kouacou explained that with the right action and policies, land mass, human resources and temperate weather, Africa can someday be the world’s food basket.
The Programme Manager, Agriculture, European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Hugh Briggs, said that the FISH4ACP project is being implemented in 12 countries worldwide, with Nigeria getting the lion’s share of the grant, totalling €5m to boost fish production in the country.
Briggs urged the grant beneficiaries to use the fund effectively to create more job opportunities in the aquaculture value chain and, most importantly, significantly increase local fish production.
At an event, Paul Apuma, representing the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Wellington Omorogbon, praised the FAO, EU, and other partners for their assistance in bolstering Nigeria’s fish production.
Omorogbon indicated that Nigeria possesses vast water resources that should enhance fish output, but fish farmers face significant challenges, particularly high feed costs and access to finance.
Source: Punch
Image Credit: FreePik
