There are so many information on the internet on "How to Start Fish Farming in Nigeria" but few are detailed enough to really
assist aspiring fish farmer to get started. I will be endeavor to make this
article as detailed as possible and hope that other experienced fish farmer
will add to it as we try to answer people's questions through commenting.
One of the most popular farming in Nigeria is fish farming and for
good reasons. Gone are the days when the only means of getting fish is by
catching it in the local rivers and ponds through trial and errors. Today, the
modern farm practice has made it possible to grow fish in the farms and control
the input.
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| Catfish-Farming-Nigeria-Picture |
If you are thinking of business to start now, I recommend you
start CatFish Farming in Nigeria. If you are an existing farmer and you are
looking for expanding your farm capacity, I'd encourage you add fish farming to
your farm. Fish farming (especially catfish) is most compatible with poultry
farming as you can use the poultry drops to make the feeds for your fish.
Benefits of Fish Farming
1. Fishery products is by far the most popular animal products in
the market, constituting more than 60% of meat products in the Nigerian market.
2. Fish is one of the highest source of protein. Fish is a low-fat
high quality protein that is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such
as D and B2 (riboflavin). Fish is also very rich in calcium and phosphorus and
is equally a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium,
and potassium.
3. Fish sells faster than any other animal products in the market
and is relatively cheaper than meats, making it the number one choice when it
comes to affordability.
4. Fish grows very fast as practices in fish farming makes it
possible for farmers to increase the fastness of their fish growth by giving
them certain feeds, ensuring that you harvest and sell within short period of
time.
5. Fish is the biggest source of Omega-3 fatty acids which is
extremely beneficial to human heart; Omega-3 helps to keep our heart and brain
very healthy. Since bodies don't produce Omega-3 fatty acids, the only source
through which we can get it is by what we eat, that is where fish comes to the
rescue.
6. Fish farming is very profitable. With proper planning and good
management, N3 million investment in fish farming could easily result to N4
million of pure profit within six months.
7. Fish farm does not cause any environmental hazard. Unlike
poultry farming, you can setup fish farm anywhere, including residential areas.
If you have a specious compound, you can easily setup a small fish farm within
your backyard without any regulatory precaution.
Risks and Challenges in Fish Farming
1. Fish is very sensitive to manage and a slight mistake could
result to degenerated growth of your fish or even death which may cause massive
revenue loss.
2. Setting up fish farm is capital intensive, much more than that
of poultry and snail farm. Setting up fish farm requires more careful planning
and much capital input. A relatively small fish farm may take up to N500,000 to
setup, while bigger ones takes millions of naira.
3. Due to the cost of production, fish produced from the farm is
priced higher than those caught from the rivers and ponds by fishermen.
Therefore, if there are good quantity of fisherman's fish in the market, you
may find it difficult to sell as people would prefer the cheaper ones.
4. There is no byproduct in fishery unlike poultry where even the
drop can be harvested and sold to other farmers and make extra profit. In
fishery, all you get is the flesh.
Types of Fish You Can Farm
Haven seen the benefits as well as the risks involved in fish
farming, let's now proceed to decide which specie of fish we want to farm.
Below are some of the most popular fish species that is suitable for
Aquaculture.
1. Cat Fish - Even though Catfish is not the most popular fish in
Nigeria, this fish species is by far the most cultivated in Nigeria. One thing
good about catfish is that it is one of the easiest fish species to cultivate.
So, people naturally flow to the direction of fish specie they found to be the
easiest to cultivate.
2. Tilapia - Second most popular fish in Nigeria's aquaculture
industry, Tilapia is a fish species that lives in fresh shallow water. Tilapia
is very easy to cultivate and very popular in Nigerian market, it reproduces
very rapidly and grows fast too.
3. Mackerel (Titus) - This
is by far the most popular fish in Nigerian market but so sad it's not farmed.
All Mackerel Fish are "wild caught" but some farmer in Nigeria are
considering the possibility of creating artificial salty water that will be
similar to sea water where mackerel can only survive. Can this deep blue sea
fish specie be cultivated artificially? Only time will tell but for now, you
have to focus your attention to Catfish and Tilapia.
What You Need to Get Started
1. Secure a Land - Any location is good since fish doesn't cause
any environmental disturbance. Look for land where you can get it cheap and
buy. Depending on the capacity you wants to operate on, half plot of land is just
good enough for average fish farm.
However, you may go for something bigger like full plot or two if
you can afford it probably for convenience sake. If you already have a compound
with leftover space you thing can accommodate two or three ponds, you may use
it.
2. Construct Ponds - You need to engage the service of expert pond
construction engineer or you go to another fish farm to get the specification
and construction requirements. The plumbing work must be properly done to
ensure proper drainage.
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| Catfish-Ponds-in-Nigeria - Example of what fish ponds looks like. You need to visit fish farms to see it |
3. Dig a Borehole - Adequate water supply is the lifeblood of fish
farm and lack of it may result to disaster because water need to be changed on
regular interval. Naturally available sources of water such as borehole and
river water is the most suitable. Rain water and tap water from chemically
treated source is not recommended for fish cultivation.
4. Overhead Tank - This is the water reservoir from which water is
supplied to your ponds. This tank has to be connected to your ponds through
plumbing system to make it convenient for water to flow into your ponds when
needed.
5. Juvenile Fish - Get your juvenile from another farm that
specializes in supplying it. You need to go for the high yield specie of
catfish or tilapia and make sure you are getting it from a healthy farm.
6. Get Training - Not the kind of training you get from one day
seminars; you need to get attached to a fish farm for proper apprenticeship.
For you to properly learn this trade, you need at least two months training on
this.
Remember that your investment is at stake, trial and error is not
good in business except you have unlimited funds to experiment with.
We have previously posted these analysis below from our sister sites Chris Farm Nigeria and Kings Way Agro Services and
decided to add it as sample case study you can follow.
"This feasibility study prepared for a catfish farm capacity
of 10,000 and fingerlings of high breed catfish where to be stocked. The
expenses from pond construction to marketing is considered. The farm is to have
10 concrete ponds of flow through system and each pond is to contains 1,000
stocked catfish.
Cost of constructing each pond is as follows.
Each pond is 3m x 2.5m by 1.4m, each pond consumes 210 blocks and
each bag of cement for 30 blocks. Hence 210 x 10 = 2,100 blocks. 2,100/30 = 70
bags of cement needed. 2000 x 70 = 140,000 naira.
4trips of sand used =7,000x4 = N28,000
2trips of gravel = 32,000x 2 = N64,00
Cost of labour = N150,00
Cost of plumbing (inlet and outlet facility) = N100,000.
Cost of bore hole = N150,000.
Cost of treatment = N50,000.
Cost of high breed fingerlings 30x10,000 = N300,000.
Cost of feeding from day one to maturity stage is 200 bags of
foreign feed = N1,000,000.
After the average weight of the fish was 1.7kg. And it was sold at
800 naira each. The output was 800x9800 fishes, due to 200 mortality. 800 x
9800 = N7,840,000.
Input is N3.25'million. The profit is N4.59 million after six
months of culture." Following this cost analysis, you can easily invest N3
million and expect a massive turnover of N4 million with six months it will
take for you to harvest and sell.
There is no doubt that fish farming is very lucrative and
profitable in Nigeria. You need to get it right by drawing complete business
plan and following it to the later. You need to apply good management skills
and follow the acceptable standard. If you do all these, you are sure to make
good profit from your fish farming business in Nigeria.
Ask questions
or share your opinions with us by dropping us a comment below.
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