A fish farmer’s cooperative society with over 40 members in Abuja, Aller Aqua Nigeria Limited, has benefitted from a one day capacity building and sensitisation workshop on best practices in fish farming, fish processing and value chain opportunities.
The training, which took place Monday in Abuja, had in attendance representatives from the National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Youth Chamber of Commerce (NYCC), Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and Aller Aqua Nigeria Limited.
One of the facilitators, Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products directorate of Aller Aqua, Dr Chekwube Ifeadi, trained the farmers on antibiotic use, dangers of drug abuse and adverse effects of not observing drug withdrawal periods; which be said results in antimicrobial resistance and the adverse effect on human health.
Another staff of Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products directorate of Aller Aqua,
Mr Bashir A.M, spoke on inspection requirements of the agency to set up a feed mill and current trends in feed and feed processing, cautioning farmers on sharp practices and the dangers of using adulterated and low quality feed ingredients to feed their fish
He said government has taken steps to ensure the ease of doing business by the farmers by introducing the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) option during registration of business, adding that the process has been made easier for small scale businesses.
An NYCC representative, Dr Peter Ayim,
and representative of Agric Rural Development Secretariat of the FCDA, Mr Okon Ofonima, also assured the farmers of their support and commitment.
They stressed that the value chain is underutilized and the potentials are yet to be exploited by fish farmer cooperative groups, suggesting these are some of the areas the farmers should take advantage as they are willing to partner with the farmers to achieve this.
Aller Aqua Nig Ltd representatives, Dr Larry Obaje, assured farmers of continued commitment of the company to the cause of fish farmers in the country and the success of the aquaculture industry as a whole in Nigeria, calling on federal government to ensure right policies are put in place to make aquaculture thrive in the country.
