Business
Fish Farmer Laments Catfish Importation
A Lagos-based fish farmer, Mr Linus Dibia last Monday raised alarm over the importation of catfish into the country to the detriment of local farmers.
Dibia told newsmen in Lagos that catfish was being imported from neighbouring African countries and sold at lower rates to market women.
He said that the imported variety was cheaper because the governments of those African countries subsidised inputs.
He said that Nigeria was a beneficiary of the World Bank’s West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) assisted regional agricultural project which included aqua culture but that Nigerian farmers were not feeling the impact of the aid.
Dibia operates a catfish farm in Ijegun in Ikotun/Igando Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
He said governments of other African countries through the grant, were assisting their fish farmers but Nigerian farmers were not able to compete because of high cost of fish feeds.
“Presently the price of fish is going down while that of feeds is increasing.
“People are importing catfish from other African countries where their governments are using the World Bank assisted project to assist the farmers.
“We cannot compete favourably because instead of our own to be cheaper, it is more expensive so, the market women prefer to buy the imported catfish.
“Both the state and federal government should subsidise fish feeds for us,” he said. He lamented that the federal government always said it was releasing funds but that it was not getting to the real farmers.
He said that fish farmers relied on foreign fish feeds which were expensive and sold for N6,500 per 15 kilograms while the same quantity of the local variety sold for about N5,000.
He appealed to the federal and state government to support fish farmers as was done to other farmers.
“We want Lagos state and federal government to support us with fish feeds as they do to other local farmers that they give fertilisers,” he said.
He also appealed to the federal government to ensure ongoing registration of farmers in the country was not an exercise in futility.
He urged government to keep its promise to assist the farmers as according to him farmers in Lagos were being registered a fourth time.
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.
