Fish Farming in Nigeria: A Lucrative Business
Fish farming in Nigeria is not a new business idea. Nowadays, commercial fish farming has become a great income source and business idea for the individuals.
Some of the fish farmers are farming fish for personal consumption and some are farming in large scale for commercial purpose. All those small or large scale fish farms are contributing much in the total economy and nutrition demands.
BENEFITS OF FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA
The most important benefits of fish farming in Nigeria are enumerated below.
• Favourable weather condition of Nigeria makes setting up fish farming business very suitable
• Numerous species of fishes are available which are highly profitable for fish farming in Nigeria.
• High demand and price of fish in the market.
• Fish is a great source for food and nutrition. You can earn some extra money by setting up a fish farm along with meeting up your daily family demands.
• Commercial fish farming in Nigeria is a great source of employment and source of extra income
STARTING FISH FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA
If you are thinking about starting fish farming as an agribusiness, you need to consider some important factors that may affect the success and profitability of fish farming business.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SITING A FISH POND
LAND SELECTION: selecting a suitable land for fish farming is very important. For commercial production, earthen ponds are very suitable and it is mostly used culture units by many farmers. While selecting lands keep in mind some necessary facilities which are must for fish farming, includes a good source of fresh water supply, type of the soil, availability of labors, good transportation etc.
FISH POND CONSTRUCTION: after selecting a suitable land for fish farming, it’s time to construct a pond. This is probably the second step, there are professional in this area, who knows what to do and how to go about it, there are different specifications and dimension in constructing or building a fish pond so I advise you employ the service of an expert to do this for you. Each type of fish species require special types of pond design to grow. After selecting the desired fish species, make a pond that enables your fish to grow favourably.
WATER SUPPLY FOR THE FISH POND: Another important resources that must be put in place before establishing a fish pond anywhere is the availability of water, NOTE: any deficiency in water supply in a fish pond can result to big-time loss and death of the fishes. Natural water is best for this e.g. River, Lakes around but if this is not available another better system is digging a Borehole water system, if you are going to do this you will need an overhead tank or water reservoir that will be connected to the fish pond to supply neat water at all time.
Selecting Fish Species: Along with good site and well-constructed pond and other good facilities, selecting proper fish species is most important. Selecting fish species for fish farming depends on the market, climate, and weather and farm location.
Things to note while selecting species of Fish
To select species of fish for farming business in Nigeria, the following must be noted:
• Select those species that has a great demand in the local market.
• Select the species that grow faster.
• The species that can easily maintain and grows well in your local weather and climate.
• Consider availability of necessary feeds for the species.
STOCKING: This is yet another important aspect to take serious in fish farming. After you might have process the necessary steps and put them all in place the next thing is getting your small fishes usually referred to as “Fingerlings and Juvenile” you can buy them from a farm or specialist that are based on supplying healthy hatched Fingerlings you can get Catfish or Tilapia.
Feeding of Fish
Providing good quality and nutritious food ensures fast growth and maximum production. For commercial fish farming in Nigeria, manufactured supplementary fish feeds are must.
You can buy the ready-made supplementary fish feeds that are available in the market. In the market you will find various types of fish feed prepared for each type of fish species.
For example, if you want to raising tilapia fish then buy feeds from the market which are prepared for tilapia.
Marketing of Fish in Nigeria
Almost all people love to eat fish and there is already a suitable market for fish. You can easily sell fish in your local market. The Following tips will be effective for marketing fish and gaining more profits from fish farming:
After collecting fish from the pond, send them to the market as soon as possible. Doing late can decrease the quality.
For maximum price of your products, you can separate different sized fish. For example, separate the fish into three groups. Small, medium and large.
Local markets are very suitable for marketing. But if foreign export available then you can try international markets.
Fish Farming in Nigeria PDF
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