Expert decries high cost of production on aquaculture sector

On Feb 15, 2023

An aquaculture consultant, Mr Bashir Amin, has decried the effect of high cost of production on the growth of local aquaculture sector.

Amin, a fishery expert, said that the rising cost of production in aquaculture had limited the development of the sector as most farmers cannot break even.

“The major problem faced in the aquaculture sector is the growing cost of production. The cost is relatively high both for fish feed and for fish seedlings.

“The cost of production in the aquaculture sector has gone beyond the roof and unfortunately what is produced is generally for Nigerians who lack the purchasing power.

“Farmers are producing high quality fed fish at relatively high cost that most Nigerians cannot afford hence, their inability to break even,” he said.

According to Amin, the inability to boost value addition in aquaculture sector is mainly because of recurrent high cost production.

“The issue of value addition to boost the productivity of aquaculture sector comes with its own challenges.

“In the last year 10 years, a larger proportion of the African catfish we produce locally are processed by either drying or smoking.
“We have been limited to smoking and drying local aquaculture because as we add value, the cost of production keeps increasing as it is not affordable to the general public.

“We can also freeze our catfish but electricity is key and not quite stable. Using generator to freeze the fish will also increase cost of production that will translate to higher market price.

“We engage in value addition everyday in the sector but the main issue is the affordability of the produce by the customers, so we do not run at a loss.

“To ensure continuous value addition and patronage in the sector, marketing efforts must step up for fish farmers to break even,” Amin said.