OVERVIEW OF FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES, THE RIVERS STATE EXPERIENCE. Nene A. Jamabo and Aduabobo I. Hart.

Transcription

1 OVERVIEW OF FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES, THE RIVERS STATE EXPERIENCE. Nene A. Jamabo and Aduabobo I. Hart.

2 WORLD AQUACULTURE CONFERENCE ADELAIDE Session: Development, Welfare and Poverty alleviation (AWF) Session Day: June 11 Time: 11.10

3 Introduction Supplies of fish in the world s vast oceans once seemed inexhaustible. The situation is not so now because of overexploitation of the aquatic resources. Most of the fish species have suffered depletion and are now in danger of extinction because of over-fishing and environmental degradation. Growing aquaculture industry has attempted to fill the gap between supply and demand as the global appetite for fish continues to increase.

4 Fish Farming in Nigeria Expanding rapidly since 1995 Introduction of: Dutch strain of brood stock Fish feeds (especially larval feeds and pelleted feeds) Introduction of tank culture (Concrete, plastic, fiber, wooden tanks). WRS Aquaculture before 1995 in Nigeria: mainly based on pond farming Small farms with only a few exceptions Means of feeding: chicken offal, manure, agricultural by products, locally produced unbalanced feeds

5 Fish farming in the past Very few farmers Feeding spent grain, chicken manure, maggots and rotting intestines Very few consistent hatcheries for fingerling supply Very little knowledge and understanding of fish farming principles No commercial feeds available at all

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9 Aquaculture in recent years Introduced high quality floating feeds to the Nigerian market This broke a previous vicious cycle in catfish production FEED QUALITY There was good profit to be made in catfish farming There was a great rush into fish farming, also stimulated by the presidential initiative (A lot of investors thought they would get free or cheap government money?) Availability of WRS technology and systems in Nigeria We have seen a big rush into fingerling production and a huge number of consultants became visible, some good, some not so good!

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11 Nursery tanks

12 Wooden tanks

13 Ponds in residential buildings

14 Aquaculture at present

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16 - We have seen a big increase in catfish production - A big increase in competition between farmers - A sharp drop in the catfish farmgate price (N500/kg) - No fall in the price of catfish to the end consumer - Many different types of feed in the market, most of which are not even meant for the African Catfish! (Coppens, Multi feed, Zigler etc) - Very High margins still exist for the middle men (and women!)

17 - Alot of investors have moved into feed production to try to produce a cheap feed (Vital fish feed, Ajala fish feed, Lyxn feed etc). - Farmers are jumping from one food to another very causually not realizing the consequences on their fish or production. - More private farms produce and sell fingerlings to farmers.

18 - Use of tanks (plastic, concrete, wooden tanks, fiber glass tanks) for catfish culture. - Few farms raising tilapia in concrete tanks. - Value addition to farm raised fish (fish been processed in the farms and sold as dried/smoked fish. - Catfish available and affordable to consumers.

19 The growth in Nigerian aquaculture industry is driven by many forces: Hunger Poverty and unemployment Increased awareness of fish farming as a business Population increase Declining capture fisheries and local demand.

20 The failures and success of fish farming in Nigeria are due to: Poor site selection Insufficient funds for the size of operation Poor planning Inexperienced staff Investors not motivating staff No regular supply of fingerlings High cost of pelleted feeds Badly designed systems and cutting corners.

21 Common fish species cultured

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23 Challenges facing the growth of fish farming in Nigeria. Lack of funds Poor record keeping Inadequate entrepreuner skills High cost of fish feeds Poor quality fish seed

24 Conclusion Fish farming in Nigeria is an untapped goldmine based on the fact that there is an ever increasing need for it as the best alternative to meet the protein need of the people. It is business and there is an opportunity. Catfish grown in ponds are now competing with imported fish.

25 Thank you