Nigeria's aquaculture industry has received a significant boost, thanks to EfD Nigeria’s effort to equip local fish farmers with environmentally sustainable water management practices. Farmers from Ufoma Fish Farmers and Aqua Fish Farmers Cooperative Societies in Warri, Delta state, have reported an increased yield of at least 20 percent due to techniques they learned from EfD Nigeria's training on pond water management.
In August 2023, EfD Nigeria organized a hands-on training program for fish farmers. Over 178 farmers from the two cooperative societies were taught environmentally sustainable best practices for water management in fish farming.
The farmers learned to use test kits to measure their ponds' pH levels, temperature, and ammonium nitrate. These elements are crucial for maintaining healthy aquatic environments and ensuring optimal fish production.
Training aligned with demands for local fish production
The training came at a time when the Nigerian government is paying increasing attention to aquaculture as a key solution to the growing demand for fish, particularly as the country works to reduce its reliance on fish imports and boost local production.
However, challenges such as poor water quality management, inadequate knowledge of best environmental practices, and limited access to technical resources have often undermined the sector's profitability.
The need to address the challenge of poor environmental management practices among fish farmers informed EfD Nigeria’s project on the impact of improved environmental management practices on small-scale catfish production: Experimental evidence from coastal Nigeria. The training was one of the deliverables of the project
Impacts of the training after one year
EfD Nigeria’s training has proven impactful. A follow-up assessment conducted in December 2024 revealed that farmers who participated in the training recorded at least a 20 percent increase in their business performance as a direct result of applying the knowledge gained from the training.
Some of the beneficiaries of the training, whose opinions were randomly sampled, said that practicing improved pond water quality management has made their fish healthier with better financial value. While some of them estimated the rate of their increase at 20 percent, others said that they recorded a 30 percent better yield.
“Before the training, we depended on observations from our eyes to gauge the quality of water in our ponds; after the training, we have test kits that we use to measure accurate and dependable results,” Gowin Danladi, the Financial Secretary of the Ufoma Fish Farmers Cooperative Society, said.
Danladi, who has been into fish farming since 2007, said the training manual he and his members received has been invaluable in guiding them on how to maintain a healthy and productive pond environment.
“The training has helped members of our cluster to easily clear their tidal waterways; this was a big deal for us before the training in 2023,” Gowin Danladi said.
Farmers need more interventions
While the fish farmers have made significant improvements in the management of their pond water, they wish they could get reagents that would help them manage the volume of ammonia nitrate in their ponds.
The farmers also seek intervention in the regulation of the quality of feeds sold in Nigerian markets. They complained that the quality promised in the package of the feeds is not usually what the feeds offer to the fish.
The training’s success is expected to have a ripple effect beyond the immediate benefits to the farmers. As the farmers' businesses grow, they contribute to the overall increase in local fish production, which helps to meet domestic demand and reduce reliance on imports.
It is also expected that the improved environmental management practices would promote long-term sustainability within the sector, reducing the environmental footprint of aquaculture operations.
“Feedback from the training is encouraging us to do more”
“I am impressed with the responses we are getting from the fish farmers in Delta State; it is an encouragement for us to do more for Nigeria’s fishery and aquaculture sector,” Prof. Nnaemeka Chukwuone, the Director of EfD Nigeria, said.
Nnaemeka Chukwuone said that EfD Nigeria has been making broader efforts to boost sustainable fish production in Nigeria. Since 2022, EfD Nigeria has been engaging with stakeholders and policymakers to review Nigeria’s Sea Fisheries Act, which was last updated in 1992. The center is also working with EfD Ghana and Nigerian stakeholders towards developing a fisheries management plan for Nigeria.
“Our efforts are guided by evidence from our research projects,” Nnaemeka Chukwuone said.
Chukwuone said that EfD Nigeria will continue to monitor the progress of the farmers, and the hope is that the ripple effect will inspire other fish farming communities across the country to adopt similar environmental management practices.