Chief Tayo Akingbolagun, the National Chairman, Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN), says Nigeria can generate employment and wealth if support is given to fish farming.
Akingbolagun said this in Ibadan at the three-day catfish fair organised by the Oyo State chapter of CAFAN that commenced on Wednesday and would end on Friday.
Akingbolagun said that the new focus of the Federal Government had been defined through its well-articulated agricultural policies that were intended to diversify the nation’s revenue base from a monolithic product.
He said: “The time has come for our country to revisit those activities of the 50’s when cocoa, rubber, palm-oil, groundnut and cotton were the main sources of government revenue before the discovery of oil.
“Nigeria has a coastline of about 853km and blessed with enormous water resources suitable for any form of aquaculture.
”It also has an estimated 1.7million hectare, excluding marine and brackish water bodies, for aquaculture production,’’
Akingbolagun, however, stressed the need for farmers to position themselves for the Federal Government’s articulated agricultural policies.
He said that the association, in its efforts at achieving government’s policy of self-sufficiency in fish production, had embarked on a drive to develop fish business.
“As we all know that fish feed accounts for about 70 percent of production cost, we have developed a healthy and working relationship with Grand Cereals, a division of UAC that produces VITAL FEEDS.
“The relationship is for the company to produce quality fish feed at reasonable price. Our focus in the next five years is to encourage locally produced fish feed,’’ he said.
Meanwhile Mrs Modupe Awoyomi-Kolade, the Chairperson of CAFAN, Oyo State Chapter, said the group would continue to contribute its quota to government’s efforts through positive actions.
She said that such actions would seek to boost production, job, wealth and foreign exchange creation.
“For the potential in aquaculture to be realised, government policy needs to give farmers greater roles through the provision of incentives, grants and aids among others.
“Farmers should be encouraged to making farming a business at whatever level of enterprise,’’ she said.
Akingbolagun said this in Ibadan at the three-day catfish fair organised by the Oyo State chapter of CAFAN that commenced on Wednesday and would end on Friday.
Akingbolagun said that the new focus of the Federal Government had been defined through its well-articulated agricultural policies that were intended to diversify the nation’s revenue base from a monolithic product.
He said: “The time has come for our country to revisit those activities of the 50’s when cocoa, rubber, palm-oil, groundnut and cotton were the main sources of government revenue before the discovery of oil.
“Nigeria has a coastline of about 853km and blessed with enormous water resources suitable for any form of aquaculture.
”It also has an estimated 1.7million hectare, excluding marine and brackish water bodies, for aquaculture production,’’
Akingbolagun, however, stressed the need for farmers to position themselves for the Federal Government’s articulated agricultural policies.
He said that the association, in its efforts at achieving government’s policy of self-sufficiency in fish production, had embarked on a drive to develop fish business.
“As we all know that fish feed accounts for about 70 percent of production cost, we have developed a healthy and working relationship with Grand Cereals, a division of UAC that produces VITAL FEEDS.
“The relationship is for the company to produce quality fish feed at reasonable price. Our focus in the next five years is to encourage locally produced fish feed,’’ he said.
Meanwhile Mrs Modupe Awoyomi-Kolade, the Chairperson of CAFAN, Oyo State Chapter, said the group would continue to contribute its quota to government’s efforts through positive actions.
She said that such actions would seek to boost production, job, wealth and foreign exchange creation.
“For the potential in aquaculture to be realised, government policy needs to give farmers greater roles through the provision of incentives, grants and aids among others.
“Farmers should be encouraged to making farming a business at whatever level of enterprise,’’ she said.
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