Fish farmers in Ijebu-Ode, Ondo State, South-West Nigeria, are contributing their quota to the transformation of the country’s aquaculture subsector.
Their efforts are supported by the FISH4ACP project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which is funded by the European Union and GIZ.
FISH4ACP is a global programme that seeks to improve the economic, social and environmental contribution of fisheries and aquaculture value chains across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
It is an initiative of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States that is implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The project is currently being implemented in 12 countries with 9 in Africa including Nigeria, two countries in Caribbean and one in Pacific and each country is working on a specific value chain.
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In Nigeria, FISH4ACP supports the development of the catfish value chain contributing to economic growth, job creation to increase employment opportunities and boost food security and nutrition by promoting best practice management techniques.
It enhances productivity and competitiveness making sure that economic improvements go hand in hand with environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness while paying close attention to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, because of their potential to deliver economic and social benefits.
FARMERS RECORD RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Speaking at a training in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of Ogun state, organized for journalist tagged “understanding the FAO FISH4ACP project for effective reportage, the National Project Officer FAO-FISH4ACP, Dr. Abubakar Usman said the project is equipping fish farmers with necessary tools and training that is helping them maximize profit.
“So what happened after the capacity building training that we give to the farmers, they improve their production, thereby increasing their profitability. So before their profit margin was less than 10 percent, but with this training, their profit margin, when we work with the bank and the partners, we learn to understand that the profit margin now is around 26 percent to 28 percent”.
According to Dr. Usman, 40 farmers have received 162 million Naira as a pilot and more farmers will benefit from the 9 percent single digit loan.
INSIDE IJEBU-ODE MULTIBILLION NAIRA AQUACULTURE CLUSTER
As part of the “Understanding FISH4ACP training, Journalists were taken round the Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction IDIPR center which houses the fish farm clusters that is worth about 4 billion Naira with a potential to produce 10,000 tons of catfish per annum.
The over 20years Initiative provides land and other amenities to over 600 active fish farmers.
The FISH4ACP projects provides technical and funding support for some fish farmers in the cluster.
While on the tour of the Farm, the Chief Executive Officer of IDIPR, Dr. Marcus Adeniyi told journalists that with the FISH4ACP intervention, farmers now have access to training and funds that has made a difference in their turnover.
Dr. Adeniyi, pointed out that the knowledge the farmers got from the made in a huge difference in the way they handle the fish.
“You know, for a business person, I mean for the entrepreneur, two things are important. But the principal one is knowledge. If one is not knowledgeable in doing business, you will only have a loss. So Fish4ACP is bringing knowledge to us, innovation, how to have data”
“Even before you put fish inside the water, you already calculate. With what they are bringing to us now, with the software and all that, you can see every day what you are making. Even before selling. That is one. Number two is access to financing” .
He noted that with FISH4ACP farmers make more and are able to cater for their families and live a comfortable.
Mr. Onyiade Adeneye, is a beneficiary of the FISH4ACP project, while interacting with journalists, he said the project introduced him to new ideas and innovations that has helped him minimize loss and maximize profit.
With over 10 years in the cluster and 12 fish ponds Mr. Adeneye noted that with technical support from the project, he was able to gain knowledge on the best feeding ratio for his fish thereby cutting feed wastage.
” I know what I’ve been passing through before the FISH4ACP came in. The truth is that there is a lot of difference in terms of operation. All this training that was carried out to update us and to bring in new idea”
“The truth is that there are many loopholes where we were, you know, wasting our resources then. In times of feeding, we miss feed. At times, we underfeed and at times, we overfeed”.
He further explained that “Now, another area is the issue of water, pumping of water. You see, before, personally, I would use petrol pump. And when the petrol price skyrockets, I adopted the system of using gas to power my pumping machines. So, then I was using a pump for for a pond”
“However, when the training came, I discovered that I can use one pump to serve two ponds. That reduced the cost of fueling drastically” He added
FAO was able to train farmers on data-driven and record keeping. This includes technical and extension support, they were taught to collect, analyze, and act on real-time farm data—boosting both productivity and profitability.
Beyond production, the FAO and in collaboration with GIZ trained farmers with essential financial literacy skills such as the Farmers Financial Cycle, Digital Inclusivity, that empowered them to better manage resources, plan strategically, and engage confidently with financial service providers.
This has equipped them to meet pre-financing and post-financing requirements, boosting their confidence in engaging with financial institutions.
So far, about 40 farmers have successfully accessed about NGN 165 million Naira (approximately USD 105,000) from reputable institutions such as the Bank of Industry (BOI) and First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and more farmers to access the support to boost their productivity.