Business
NIOMR Advises Fish Farmers On Canning
The Executive Director,
Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Dr Gbolaham Akande has urged catfish farmers to embrace canning as a means of preserving their products.
The Executive Director told newsmen in Lagos that many cartfish farmers were recording losses due to poor preservation and lack of value chain. He said canning would boost the income of the fish farmers.
“Canning the catfish will create value and increase the income of farmers. Instead of selling fishes unprocessed and at ridiculous prices, farmers should either smoke or can them to enhance their profit,” he said.
According to Akande, canned catfish would compete favourably with the imported canned products like Geisha and Sardine and also has the potential to become an export product for the country.
The Head of Extension and Media Relations of NIOMR, Dr. Mabel Yarhere, said that the catfish canning innovation platform (CCIP) Project was sponsored by the Forum for African Agricultural Research with $100,000 (N19.7 million)
She said that the fund was to support research, processing, market survey, mobilisation of farmers and launching various stage of the project within nine months.
According to her, farmers in the South West zone have been mobilised and empowered to embrace the project.
“We have assisted the farmers with fingerlings and feeds to boost catfish production as a step towards the success of the CCIP”, she disclosed, adding that the platform was connecting co-operative societies to commercial banks, which would give them loans to drive their active participation in the projects.
Remarking that the CCIP project was a platform set on a stable ground and would create an open market for existing farmers and aspiring ones, she expressed joy that some of the farmers were already setting up canneries through sponsorship by State governments.
She assured of the safety of consuming canned catfish as it has no health implications.
“We have followed the international best practices as specified by FAO from primary production to finished products. We have worked with various local and international regulatory agencies to ensure quality”, she said.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
