By Oluwatoyin Adegoke
The Federal Government is collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO and the European Union to empower fish farmers and ensure the sustainability of Nigeria’s fishery resources.
The intervention also included the launch of a 200 million naira support initiative to boost aquaculture towards meeting the country’s annual fish demand of more than 3 million tonnes.
At the official launch of the Scaling Fish Farming Fund Project in Ogun State, 40 fish farmers at the Eriwe Fish Cluster in Odogbolu Local Government Area of the State were provided with grants to enhance their production capacity.
Speaking at the event, the Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Wellington Omorogbon, represented by Mr. Paul Opuama said the project was aimed at ensuring better livelihoods for the farmers.
Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Nigeria, Mr. Koffy Kouacou explained that the project funded by the European Union, the GIZ and other development partners in conjunction with both the federal and state governments would ensure the availability of adequate funding for fish farmers, with a view to boosting fish production in the country.
The FAO Country Representative affirmed that the set of 40 beneficiaries, under the pilot scheme, would receive between 2.5 and 5 million naira each to upscale their fish farming business and production.
The Agriculture Programme Manager of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Hugh Briggs pointed out that Nigeria was given the lion share of the grant, totalling 5 million Euros to boost fish production in the country through project being implemented in 12 countries of the world.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Bolu Owotomo represented by the Director of Fisheries department, Princess Victoria Ojelade, while applauding the intervention also called for the extension of the kind gesture to other fish clusters across the state.
Other partners and stakeholders in separate contributions renewed their commitment to continuous collaborations with the Nigerian Government and the Fish farmers to further strengthen the aquaculture industry for food security, nutrition, and economic growth.