The Nigerian government, in collaboration with the FAO, has launched the Scaling Up Fish Farming programme, with an initial a 200 million naira disbursement to 40 small scale fish farmers at the Eriwe fish farm cluster at Odogbolu in Ogun State. Each of the 40 fish farmers will receive between 2.5 million and 5 million naira to optimize their business. The programme is part of the EU sponsored FISH4ACP programme which is supporting fisheries and aquaculture value chains in twelve African, Caribbean and Pacific nations.
Speaking on behalf of Wellington Omoragbon, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Paul Opuama, said that ‘Fish farmers face serious financial constraints, especially with feed prices soaring. This initiative provides critical support to scale up production and reduce the country’s dependence on imports’.
Hugh Briggs, Agriculture Programme Manager at the EU Delegation to Nigeria, noted that Nigeria is the biggest beneficiary of FISH4ACP funding. ‘Nigeria’s prominence in this initiative reflects its enormous potential to become a self-sufficient aquaculture hub, reducing reliance on imported fish and strengthening food security’. Koffy Kouacou, FAO Representative for Nigeria and West Africa, said that urgent action was needed to address Nigeria’s importation of over two million metric tons of fish every year which, he said, needs about 3.2 million metric tonnes every year but produces only 1.2 million metric tonnes. ‘By providing farmers with these resources, we are not only boosting production but also creating new jobs and opportunities across the sector’.
Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State Governor, said his government was committed to support the fish farm industry, which was one of the most productive in Nigeria. Small scale operators account for close to 90% of Nigeria’s fish farming population, and access to capital is one of their main challenges. The high cost of feed is a related problem. Feed accounts for about 70 per cent of the average fish farmer’s budget. To deal with the lack of skills among fish farmers, the FISH4ACP programme includes a significant training component.
Meanwhile ………. FISH4ACP Assessment Carried Out In The Ivory Coast
A delegation from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), led by FAO Representative Joseph Nyemah, visited Côte d’Ivoire on May 26 as part of an assessment evaluation of the activities of the FISH4ACP Program implemented by the FAO. This programme is aimed at helping to raise national tilapia production, estimated at between 7,000 and 9,000 tons, to 90,000 tons by 2030. The FISH4ACP programme is being implemented in 12 African,
Among the enterprises visited were a two pilot farms and a hatchery in Avame in South Comoe. Joseph Nyemah expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far, and expressed the hope that the programme will enable the Ivory Coast reverse the current situation in which it imports 80 per cent of its fish requirements. The team visited pilot farms In the field, members of the delegation led by Joseph Nyemah, FAO Representative, visited two pilot fish farms of the FISH4ACP program, producing tilapia, as well as a private hatchery, noting the significant progress of the program on the ground.
In Ayamé, in South Comoé, the delegation visited the 10 floating cages installed on the Bia River. A beneficiary of the FISH4ACP program since 2023, this farm, which had a production capacity of 300 kg per month, aims to produce one ton of tilapia per cage each month. Gilles van de Walle, Principal Technical Advisor of the FISH4ACP program, gave the assurance that the programme will continue to support the Ivory Coast to achieve food security.
