Business

GES: FG Supports 33,380 Fishermen, Fish Farmers

Published

10 years ago

November 7, 2014

The Federal Government said through its Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme it supported 18,580 fishermen and 14,800 fish farmers between 2013 and 2014 across the country.
This was contained in a report of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday.
The report stated that the Federal Government supported the fish farmers with free catfish juvenile, feeds, nets, ropes, floats, boats and sinkers.
The GES scheme is a flagship programme of the Federal Government, through which farm inputs are accessed at subsidised rates by farmers.
The scheme is being expanded to include access to farm machineries, loan facilities, insurance and extension services.
According to the report, 17,500 fishermen in Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, and Taraba benefitted in 2013.
These states got a total of 5,575 bundles of nets, 11,150 bundles of ropes, 5,575 of floats and 11,150 of sinkers, the report stated.
In 2014, the report stated that a total of 200 fishermen per state benefited across 27 states which include, Adamawa, Anambara, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo and Imo.
The others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Rivers, Nasarawa, Lagos, Cross River, Borno, Bauchi and Jigawa.
It noted that the Federal Government gave 1,080 boats and 1,080 free insulated boxes which were distributed to farmers across at 50 per cent subsidy.
The report put the total cost of government support to fishermen in 2014 at about N1.6 million.
The report noted that a total of 400 farmers in each state of the federation including the FCT got free catfish juvenile at 50 per cent subsidy.
The report put the total cost of government’s support to fish farmers in 2014 at about N2.6 million.
Fish farmers in the country have called on the government at all levels to create an enabling environment to boost fish production in the country.
The farmers spoke in separate interviews with the newsmen in Abuja.
Most of the fish farmers across the country, however, identified poor electricity supply as one of the challenges fish farmers were facing.
Chief Executive Officer, Firmament Fisheries, Ilorin, Mr Mobolaji Muhammad, urged the Kwara Government to come to the aid of fish farmers in the state through subsidised fingerlings.
He also called on the state to procure feeds for fish farmers at subsidised rate, adding that many fish farmers in the state found it very difficult to buy feeds.
He said fish farming required a lot of water, and that electricity was needed to pump water into the ponds.
Muhammad said that the cost of production was high because of the price of diesel used to power the generators.
He said that government should also consider making the local feeds to be more nutritious, accessible and affordable to farmers.
He said that he had been into fish farming for four years and the level of production was steady.
“ For now the market value is low. Fish is scarce because everybody is producing towards December time. So, not so many fishes are out there for sale at this time.
“The cost of production has been very high and it is usually between N450 and N750 per kilogramme,” he said.
In Ogun, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, restated the commitment of the state government to support fish farmers in the state in order to boost fish production.
Sokefun said the state government had continued to raise fingerlings and sold at highly subsidised rate to fish farmers in the state.
“If you go to our model farm estate at Owowo in Ewekoro local government, we engage in fish farming and we sell at a very decent rate to fish farmers,” she said.
“Periodically we buy fishing bowls, fishing net and we give to the various groups of fish farmers.
“We also produce our own fish feeds— which we sell to fish farmers at very low rates,” she said.
Sokefun explained that the government had also continued to assist fish farmers to secure loans to boost their businesses.
Contributing, the Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Zamfara state office, Alhaji Musa Raji said the Federal Government has selected 400 fish farmers to be supported with inputs in the state.
Raji said the farmers would be supported with different farm inputs to enable them increase production.
According to him, the support to be given to the fish farmers in the state include fingerlings and bags of fish feeds.
“Each out of the 400 fish farmers selected will be given 500 fingerlings and five bags of fish feeds, making a total of 200,000 fingerlings and 2,000 bags of feeds to be distributed”
“The 200,000 fingerlings will be given to the farmers free of charge and each one is sold in the market at N150.
“Five bags of feeds will be given at the subsidized rate of N12,500 and each bag is sold in the market at N4,000”, he said.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

4 days ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

1 week ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu