Fish Farmers Laud Aquaculture’s Productivity Level in Nigeria

Nigerian farmers in the fishery sector have commended Olam Agri for the recent improvement in productivity levels in the fishing sector valued at N210 billion in the first half of 2023.

The farmers have attributed some of the progress recorded in the sector to the company’s investments in the value chain since 2017.

The country’s fishing industry grew 0.53 per cent in 2017, 1.64 per cent in 2018, grew again in 2019 by 3.33 per cent, slowed to 0.26 per cent in 2020, and grew marginally in 2021 to 1.16 percent. In 2022, the growth slowed to 0.47 per cent.

“Olam agri employs technical experts who go around to visit farms to work with the farmers to improve farm clusters’ productivity,” said Olatoye Fajimi, vice president of the Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association, attesting to the business’ value chain impact.

Olam Agri Nigeria, an agribusiness in food, feed, and fibre, started investing in the aquaculture value chain in 2017 through its feed milling unit.

“Before then,” a statement made available by the company said, “the sector was bedeviled with different challenges among which were poor knowledge of modern fish farming practices, inaccessibility of high-quality feed, high mortalities in hatcheries, slow growth in nursery phase and irregular sizes during harvest. This led the agribusiness to immediately set machinery in motion to address the challenges.”

Specifically speaking, Lazarus Odafi, owner of Odafi Fish Farm located within the Asejere Fish Farms cluster in Odogbolu, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, said, “Olam Agri came to our farm cluster and trained us on pond water management techniques, how to test PH level in the pond, and ways to curb feed waste.

They helped us understand the science of catfish farming, especially how to create the right environment for the fish to thrive. These efforts have really impacted our businesses.”

“Since feed is one of the most important inputs in fish farming, Olam Agri increased the availability of feed to farmers. They help farmers gain access to feed in an instant by localising their production in key hubs here in Nigeria,” Odafi added.

On her part, Dorcas Ogundeyi of Tripple T Farms, located in Ipaja, said the conversion rates of Olam Agri feed brands have been superb.

In her words: “An Olam Agri’s technical expert taught me how to manage disease in my pond and how to measure water quality. These inputs have made some impacts on my farm productivity level.”

Okpapi Lucy, whose farm is in Alagbado, Lagos, said she struggled until she met an Olam Agri technical expert who introduced her to new methods of farming.

She emphasised the business’ attention to customer improvement, “Anytime I have issues on the farm and call them, they will show up almost instantly. They are hands-on.

In fact, they would go into my pond to address any challenge I complained about. Olam Agri is one of the reasons I am still in business.”

Agronigeria/Shakirat