The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has urged investors and financial institutions to tap into Nigeria’s catfish industry, citing a 2.2 million metric tonnes annual fish supply gap.
Oyetola, who spoke on Wednesday at a high level roundtable on sustainable catfish value chain transformation in Abuja, said Nigeria’s annual fish demand stood at 3.6 million metric tonnes, against domestic production of about 1.4 million tonnes.
He described the deficit as an opportunity to boost food security, reduce fish imports, create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
“Expanding domestic fish production is an economic and food security imperative. It offers an opportunity to strengthen domestic food supply, reduce dependence on fish imports, stimulate enterprise development and create sustainable livelihoods across the country,” he said.
The minister noted that Nigeria was Africa’s second-largest aquaculture producer and a leading producer of farmed African catfish, adding that investment opportunities extended to hatcheries, feed mills, processing, transportation and cold-chain services.
“Investment in aquaculture has a multiplier effect, creating opportunities and value across several interconnected sectors of the economy,” he said.
Oyetola, however, said closing the gap required coordinated investment across the value chain, including quality fingerlings, affordable feeds, modern infrastructure, fish health management and reliable markets.
He urged financial institutions to provide lending arrangements that reflect the production cycles of fish farming businesses.
“The timing of disbursement, repayment schedules and cost of credit must reflect the production cycle and cash-flow patterns of fish farming enterprises,” he said.
He identified high feed and energy costs, poor fingerling supply, weak biosecurity and inadequate processing and cold-storage facilities as major industry challenges, describing them as investment opportunities.
Oyetola also advocated aquaculture clusters and cooperatives to reduce operating costs and improve access to shared infrastructure and services.
He pledged stronger government collaboration with states, regulators and development finance institutions to improve financing, research, technical support and sector data.
The minister commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), European Union and German Government for supporting Nigeria’s catfish industry through the FISH4ACP programme, which promotes improved feed production, hatchery management, broodstock development and digital farm management.
FISH4ACP is implemented by the FAO with funding from the European Union and German Government to develop sustainable fisheries and aquaculture value chains across 12 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
