The President, Goodwill Fish Farmers Cooperative Society based in Ijanikin, Lagos, Mr Pius Ogu, has urged the Federal Government to encourage young people to venture into fish farming by financing the sector.
Ogu made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Badagry.
According to the president, if young people see that fish farmers are well taken care of by the government through provisions of adequate funds, they will be encouraged to join the sector.
“So, government needs to provide conducive environment for our local fish farmers, so that they can produce more fishes for local consumption,” he stated.
Ogu, who noted that many fish Farmers in Nigeria did not have adequate funds required to run an economic scale farming, also urged the government to “encourage local production, by reducing the amount of foreign exchange given to importers of frozen fish”.
“We are ready to produce enough fish for local consumption, if we can get adequate support from the government.
“In fish production, feeds is one of the major components, and it is responsible for about 70 per cent of total cost of production.
“So, the required fund for feeding of these fishes is one of the challenges facing fish farming in Nigeria,” Ogu surmised.
NAN
