Fish Farmer Wants Easy Access To Loans

As one of the catalysts
that will cause increase in fish production, a fish farmer in Port Harcourt, Mr. Desmond Ikeka, has appealed to both the  Federal and State governments to improve access to credit facilities  for farmers.
Ikeka who is  the director of Divine fish farm, made the appeal, last Friday while speaking with The Tide in Port Harcourt and stated that easing access  to loan for fish farmers would boost production.
He recounted the difficulties farmers often experienced in accessing bank loans, saying that most farmers could not meet up with the demands of the financial institutions.
According to him, the  protocol involved  is enormous, and if this is not checked, many farmers will be  frustrated  out of business.
“The fish farmers are making efforts to boost production but finance  is our major problem  and the banks are not  helping us at all,” he stated.
Ikeka  maintained that for fish  farmers to produce at full capacity, and meet consumption level, they must have access to credit facilities at the appropriate time.
The farmer expressed optimism that with assistance from the government, fish production would increase significantly.
He said “Fishing equipment are not too expensive. If only government can help us with soft loans, it will go a long way to boost our production”.
The fish farm director therefore pleaded with the government  to give the needed attention to farmers to enhance their productivity.

Corlins Walter