A Lagos-based fish farmer,
Mr Kayode Adegbenro, on Sunday attributed the low level of fish production in the country to the high cost of feeds.
Adegbenro told newsmen that the cost of imported feeds was expensive compared to the locally produced ones.
He urged the Federal Government to support fish farmers and provide an enabling environment for investors to produce quality feeds at affordable price.
“The local feed produced here in Nigeria are of low quality, compared to the imported ones.
“The local feed sinks to the floor of the pond leaving the water polluted and just few fishes have access to the feed.
“Most farmers prefer to make use of the imported feeds due to the convenience of floating, giving the fishes easy access to them.
“The imported feeds are also of high quality which enables the fish to grow big accordingly.
“But due to their high cost, the profit margin will be reduced, leaving most farmers discouraged at the end,’’ Adegbenro said.
He appealed to government to support agro-industries in producing quality feeds at affordable price relative to the imported feeds.
According to him, such support will boost the level of fish production and farmers in the country can profit from their labour.
He said that if the cost of feeds was cheap, the cost of production would be cheap and this would enable farmers to make more profit.