Fish farmers in Lagos State, under the aegis of the Lagos State Catfish and Allied Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN), have received boost as the State Government, through the Agro-Productivity, Processing, Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) project, a World Bank funded project, has supported the group with a blast freezer for preservation of catfish, to reduce post-harvest loses and curb effects of fish mongers.
Worried by the extent of post-harvest losses recorded yearly in the catfish subsector, and exploitation of fish farmers on right pricing, the stakeholders in Ikorodu division where the blastfreezer was launched, said the project is a dream come through for them.
Speaking at the commissioning of the LASCAFAN Ikorodu blast freezer centre and launching of the frozen catfish product during the week, Abisola Olusanya, Commissioner for Agriculture, said the project was to promote value addition.
She said introducing frozen catfish would address and deliver fish farmers from the crush of fish mongers who determine price without recourse to cost of production.
Olusanya, who was represented by Daisi Osunkoya, Director of Fisheries, stated that fish, a major source of protein, is low in cholesterol, making it medically acceptable to young and old people.
She said the flexibility of fish farming encouraged the involvement of both older and younger people in the process, as a means of livelihood.
Olusanya said the state, with a population of about 25 million people, require 425,009 tonnes of fish per annum, in line with the World Health Organisation recommendation of 17kg fish protein intake per person per annum, but the current fish production figure is about 198,706 tonnes per annum.
In her goodwill message at the launch, the Lagos State Coordinator for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,  Omolara Oguntuyi, said  Lagos State is setting the pace in fish, that the farmers are doing well.
She advised the farmers to continue in the good work they are doing and to ensure they guide what they are doing jealously.
“it is good you are doing what you are doing and please what you have started follow it through, don’t let it be that in a twinkle of an eye it is dead, make sure you guard it jealously and hand it over to your children.
“Protein is in high shortage in Nigeria and everybody can bear me witness because it is very expensive, I am telling you with this you are doing, it will stabilise our price in fish and it will reduce wastage and God will help you”,  she said.
Former National President of the Catfish Association of Nigeria, who is now the Chairman of the blast freezer management, Tayo Akingbolagun, said  the launch means a lot to the farmers, adding that catfish farmers have really suffered in the hands of fish mongers who will await farmers to buy off their fish at any price whether it’s comfortable for the farmers or not.
“The farmers don’t have the option but to sell because they cannot store, they cannot process and so they have to sell under stress.
“We believe that by this, we will not only keep the farmers in production, we will also sell fish at an affordable price and more people will come into the business”, he stated.