A fisheries and aquaculture expert, Mr Bashir Owolabi, has urged local fish farmers to adopt modern technologies and value addition techniques to increase productivity and profitability in the sector.
Owolabi, founder of Aquabashy Fisheries, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
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He said modern value addition techniques could help reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ earnings.
“Basically, there are modern ways of adding value to fish. One of the most common is the freezing method, especially blast freezing.
“Presently, like frozen chicken, we now have frozen local fish in the market. Some fish farmers have also started fish canning to reduce post-harvest losses and increase profitability.
“We now have canned catfish in the market and the aim is to popularise them like the regular sardines and geisha products Nigerians consume.
“Farmers are also adopting fish filleting, fish barbecue and fish kilishi as value addition measures to boost profitability.
“Value addition in fish farming has gone beyond the traditional methods of smoking, drying or sautéing fish,” he said.
According to him, poor value addition remains one of the major factors limiting fish exportation in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for capacity building and training for local farmers on modern processing and preservation techniques.
“We are calling on international organisations, the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute and local research institutes to train farmers on modern value addition methods.
“Our farmers need training because many of them are only focused on immediate profit-making.
“But with proper training and understanding of value addition techniques, they can make more profits,” he said.
Owolabi also urged government agencies and professional bodies to intensify efforts in supporting fish farmers through training programmes.
“International organisations such as the World Aquaculture Society, Fisheries Society of Nigeria and relevant government agencies can help train our farmers,” he said.(NAN)
