By Oluwaseyi Oduneye-Ogunwomoju
WorldFish, in partnership with Trademark Africa and Mastercard Foundation, has initiated a project targeting 25,000 women and youth to boost fishery and aquaculture sector in Nigeria and Tanzania.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the initiative to boost competitiveness of fishery and acquaculture focuses on job creation, climate-smart practices, and reducing post-harvest losses.
Dr Charles Iyangbe, Country Representative of WorldFish in Nigeria, diclosed this at a workshop convened to bring key stakeholders together to provide input into the design of the programme, on Monday in Ibadan.
He said that the meeting was expected to help identify and address major obstacles hindering growth in the fishery and aquaculture sector.
“The objective of this workshop is to bring all the stakeholders together to see how we can provide input into the design of this project that is meant to increase the competitiveness of the fishery and aquaculture sector in Nigeria and Tanzania,” Iyangbe said.
According to him, the project is designed to support women and youth within the fishery and aquatic food system by creating and diversifying job opportunities.
He outlined four thematic areas that would serve as pathways for job creation: innovation within the feed sector, climate-smart aquaculture, digitalisation and access to finance, and reducing post-harvest losses while supporting the value chain.
“The idea, basically, overall is to create jobs. We have a target of reaching about 25,000 women and youth in Nigeria and Tanzania,” he stated.
The WorldFish country representative explained that addressing production and operational cost challenges, as well as socio-economic barriers, would be central to improving sector performance and making aquatic foods more accessible and affordable.
Iyangbe disclosed that the intervention would cut across six states in Nigeria, adding that farmers’ organisations in coastal areas would play a critical role alongside government and research institutions.
“We are focusing on Lagos, Ogun State, Ondo State, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Delta State,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Wellington Omoragbon, said that the affordability and availability of quality feeds have a direct bearing on the capability and output of fish farmers.
He lamented the high cost and limited availability of quality fish feeds, noting that feed alone accounts for over 75 per cent of operational costs for fish farmers.
Omoragbon said that there was an urgent need to deepen investment and innovation in modern fish production to reduce production costs.
The director assured the partners that the government remained committed to providing the necessary policy and institutional support, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders towards achieving sustainable output.
Also, Ms Hadhami Hammi, the Senior Expert, Monitoring and Evaluation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), expressed readiness to collaborate with other partners in putting together strategies for the better implementation of the project.
“We need to support African countries and member states to develop fisheries programmes as well as to support women and youth in fisheries to access jobs and finance,” she said.
Similarly, the Global President of the World Aquaculture Society, Dr Foluke Areola, said that the initiative was timely given the high cost of fish feed and the growing importance of fisheries and aquaculture to food security, livelihoods, and economic development.
The workshop had participants drawn from government agencies, private sector, financial institutions, research organisations, and farmers’ groups. (NAN)
Edited by Bayo Sekoni