By stanley Onyekwere
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has restated commitment to transform the fisheries sector to become a cash cow for the farmers in the territory and the national economy.
The Mandate Secretary for the FCTA Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (ARDS), Malam Abubakar Ibrahim, made the pledge at the commemoration of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) in the FCT, held in Abuja.
Ibrahim, who ARDS Director of Administration and Finance, Malam Ishaq Sadeeq expressed readiness of the secretariat to continue to advocate and pursue the implementation of innovative programmes that would help in enhancing effective utilization of the rich water bodies that abound in the FCT.
He noted that there was no gainsaying the fact that fish was a very important agricultural product that was largely consumed due to its rich nutritional and medicinal values.
According to him: “It is not a surprise that the sector is growing at an alarming rate as more and more Nigerians engage in fish production not just for the nutritional value, but economic benefits associated with it.
“ It is estimated that a very large percentage of Nigerians, mostly youths venture into fisheries production annually. While this scenario would have been seen as a positive development, the sad narrative is the fact that more than 90 per cent of these farmers still operate at subsistent and small-scale levels.”
He adds: “As you are aware, the United Nations, declared 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries (IYAFA) with the objective of drawing global attention to the important role that small-scale fish farmers and fish workers play in human well-being, food security, poverty eradication and in the sustainable use of natural resources.
“ Member nations are expected to use the occasion to show commitment and take practical actions to support and promote fishery activities.
“ The event we are therefore witnessing today is consistent with that worthy declaration as well as the theme of the event which is Building a Global Safety Net for Small-scale Artisanal Fisheries & Aquaculture.
“He, however, bemoaned that fish farmers in Nigeria lack the professional expertise and investable funds to enable them acquire quality inputs required to help them transit easily from household to commercial production to bridge the yawning gap between demand and supply and reduce the huge foreign exchange that was spent on fish importation.
“These are some of the issues that the programmes of the Secretariat are aimed at addressing. The story of Fisheries Development in the FCT is one that is characterized by steady growth and improvements in terms of production capacity, quality processing and access to markets and competitiveness
“Part of the strategies that we have adopted is to encourage local fish farmers organise themselves as a body so that they can more easily benefit from the various fisheries support programmes of the Secretariat.
“So far, over 400 fishery cooperative groups have registered with the secretariat, and we have been working closely with the various Fishery Associations such as the Cat Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria, (CAFAN) to promote diversification into other fish varieties”, he stressed.
Ibrahim recalled that in 2022, the secretariat organised series of workshops to promote Tilapia production as well as on the utilisation of locally sourced materials for feed formulation which is cost efficient.
Also, the secretary said in 2021, as part of the pet project of the FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, the secretariat constructed from scratch, the FCT Aquaculture and Allied Trades Centre for Youth and Women at Kuka village in Kwali Area Council, established to train women and youths in modern fish production techniques.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Mrs Ifeoma Okeke, described lack of training among others as the major challenges facing the growth of Fisheries in the FCT.
Okeke noted that although the sector is small in scale but big in value, as it has contributed so much food security and nutrition, poverty eradication and job creation.
“We assembled experts in the areas of interest to talk on processing for export, fish farming as a business, facilities available in our financial institutions and how to access them as well as prospects and challenges in the industry.
“Also, we recognised men and women that have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the industry in the FCT, which was crowned with empowerment scheme”, she added.
