Nigeria has emerged the largest producer of catfish in Africa through
the introduction of import reduction and backward integration policy.
This feat was announced in Abuja by the Minister of State for
Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, during
the Think Tank Meeting on Ornamental Fish Trade and Intra-Regional Fish
Trade.
According to the Minister, the new policy of import reduction and
backward integration introduced by the federal government helped to
boost local fish production and reduce its import.
He said: “Before the present administration, Nigeria was spending
about $900Million annually on the importation of fish which earned the
country the unenviable position as Africa’s largest importer of fish but
with the new policy of import reduction and backward integration,
Nigeria became the largest producer of Catfish in Africa”.
The Minister lauded the recent formation of the African Network of
Women Fish Processors and Traders as a platform for women who constitute
the major players in fish post-harvest handling and marketing in
Africa.
He further pledged that Nigeria would continue to assist in the
programmes and activities of bodies like the Association of Ornamental
Fish Farmers and Exporters of Nigeria (ADFFEN), Cat fish Farmers
Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) and other relevant bodies.
On his part, the African Union (EU) representative, Simplice Nouala,
said Africa is endowed with rich fisheries resources and has immense
potentials for contributing significantly to the socio economic growth,
rural development and improving livelihoods of its citizens and the
potentials can be achieved through fisheries and aquaculture sector
which include ornamental.