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The Minister of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, says following Federal
Government’s effort to encourage local production, Nigeria may stop fish
importation in 2020.
The minister made this
known while receiving a delegation from the National Fish Association of
Nigeria (NFAN) led by its National President, Dr Gabriel Ogunsanya in Abuja on
Tuesday. Nanono said time had come for Nigeria to look inward to tap into the
huge potential in fisheries and aquaculture for local consumption and export.
He noted that measures were already been put in place by government to
actualise the plan. According to him, this is an area that we can join hands to
promote fish production. We have to seriously reduce importation of fish into
the country. “Last year, we issued about one million licenses. This year, I
virtually cut it into half. “I hope next year we will further cut it so that in
the next two years we may rely entirely on what we produce here.
“Since you are producers and probably processors it is
important to take note of your development in the fish sector towards this, ”
he said. He further said, “In the next years, probably we will not allow
importation of fish into the country. “I know people are saying we can only
rear catfish, tilapia and a few other species but most of the white fish they
do not do well here. “But I know for a fact that the consumption of catfish is
very high in this country both the fresh one as well as the smoked one. “In fact,
I was made to understand that it now has export market. So, if you put your
head together and work hard, the future is very bright for fish producers in
this country,” he said. The minister assured the association of the
government’s readiness to assist where necessary to move the industry forward.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of NFAN, Dr Gabriel Ogunsanya, while
commending the minister for his commitment to moving agriculture to the next
level, called for assistance in some areas. He urged the Minister to involve
members of the association in training programmes of the ministry and other
relevant agencies. He said, “we need a letter of introduction to CBN, NIRSAL,
BOI, BOA for timely intervention to boost the fish industry production business
in Nigeria. “We also pray for the minister to guarantee loans and credit
facilities for the purpose of business expansion. “The association also needs a
letter of introduction to the 36 state governments and the FCT, Abuja. “We also
kindly pray that the minister looks into reactivating dormant fishery
terminals, fish markets, hatcheries and develop brood stock bank for identified
fish species and privatise the for utilisation of NFAN members.” The president
equally urged the minister to direct research institutes to embark on demand
driven researches to benefit the entire industry. He also called for measures
to be put in pace to support commercial fish production from along the value
chain for both local and export markets. Ogunsanya also urged the minister to
involve the association in the policy formulations for the fish industry. He
called for establishment of a liaison office space to ensure closeness to our
mother ministry and smooth interface with your management. On the gains of the
association so far, the president said, it had made some progress in the last
few years He said, “the National Fish Association of Nigeria is the umbrella
body for all fisheries and aquaculture industry value chain in Nigeria. “It has
the mandate and responsibility of bringing together every farmer and industry
operator groups to obtain or share useful business information and training.
“The association was established by the Federal Government to play such roles
long other things. “We have carried out several advocacy enlightenment and
training activities and programmes for both the existing and upcoming fish
farmers, producers and processors. “We have undertaken business development
promotion engagements with MDAs and development partners including the CBN,
NIRSAL, NEPC, SON, Quarantine and Raw Materials Research Council. “Also,
between Sept. and Oct. last year, we met with the AUIBAR Consultant on
fisheries from Nairobi as well as the Cultivating New Frontier in Agriculture
(CNFA), the prime implementing partners of USAID’s Feed the Future Project in
Nigeria. “All efforts in this regard are geared toward repositioning the
industry and better the lot of the farmers and stakeholders.” The News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) reports that part of the NFAN delegation was Dr Ladan Aliyu, Deputy
National President and National Vice Presidents representing North West, North
East, South South and South East. Other executive members including the
National Publicity Secretary, Chief Chidike Uko, were part of the delegation.
Source: Vanguard Nigeria News
