The Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) has called for more intervention from the Federal Government to increase the sector’s productivity.
The National Chairman of the association, Mr Sunday Onoja, made the call in an interview on Monday in Lagos.
Onoja said that increasing production output of catfish by local farmers was hindered due to unavailable capital and feed input.
He noted that boosting production of catfish, such that it begins to generate export income was dependent on government’s intervention.
“One way we can boost local catfish production for export revenue is through government intervention in the sector.
“Most individual farmers in the country already have the knowledge of what it takes to grow catfish but lack the wherewithal to take it to the next level.
“The next level for us farmers is mass production that goes beyond local consumption to export potential.
“Increasing production output of catfish is hindered due to unavailability of capital and feed input to local farmers.
“Enough capital is needed to set up the structures that will house large cultivation of fish. Also, to get the feed to cultivate in large quantities requires a lot of capital,” the CAFAN chairman said.
He reiterated the importance of ensuring quality feed for the fish to promote its acceptance in the international markets.
“So, to get increased output of local catfish at the end of the day, the quality of feed is essential for the fish being exported.
“We must increase our capacity not just for international consumption but to produce the best quality for human consumption whether internal consumption or exports.
“We desire to produce quality produce either for the internal market or export.
“What we need is government intervention in terms of providing inputs and feeds as well as capital to set up facilities and running costs to make sure the operation is seamless,” Onoja said.
He also noted that there are areas of the catfish chain that are yet to be explored by local farmers.
“There are also areas of catfish value chain that have not been actually tapped into like catfish oil. We must encourage farmers to explore this value-chain so they can increase their revenue.
“However, the issue of catfish oil extraction will only be beneficial if it is done at a commercial level.
“The fish farmers still need to increase production capacity, as we need to have enough fish to kill to enable them extract the oil,” he said.
NAN
