Lagos State has commenced its 2026 Fish Farming Training and Empowerment Programme across its five administrative divisions as part of a sustained drive to boost rural economies and reduce youth unemployment. 

Organised by the Centre for Rural Development (CERUD) under the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, the first edition of the state-wide scheme opened at the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area Secretariat within the Ikeja Division under the theme “Building a Resilient Socio-Economic Community through Youth Empowerment.”

The community-focused intervention aligns directly with Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s flagship T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda, which treats rural wealth generation as a core pillar of a modern economy. 

Delivering his keynote address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, Dr Nurudeen Yekinni Agbaje, explained that the strategic goal of the training is to build economic self-reliance among rural dwellers. 

The government is to expand the state’s agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while successfully discouraging rural-urban migration.

To ensure the technical training translates into immediate business growth, the state integrated a full agricultural input distribution phase into the project. 

Participants received high-quality fingerlings, commercial fish feed, and durable mobile fish tanks to establish or expand their backyard ponds. 

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Kikelomo Bolarinwa, along with the Director of CERUD, Mr Musba Balogun, urged the beneficiaries to actively apply modern management and marketing strategies to maximise their harvest volumes and improve their seasonal profit margins.

The practical field sessions were led by aquaculture experts from Akinloye-Busari Farms, headed by Lead Consultant Dr Akin Busari, who trained the smallholders on water quality management and disease prevention. 

Commending the initiative, beneficiary representatives Mr Folajimi Israel, Mrs Taiwo Adenike, and Mr Abdulateef Amusat noted that the timely distribution of free farming assets provides critical financial relief against current economic pressures, allowing local youth cooperatives to run productive and self-sustaining businesses within their home communities.

Source: Lagos State Government