Fish farmers seek investment, technology to boost value addition, profitability
Lagos, June 2026 (TBL Africa) The Fish Farmers Association of Nigeria (FFAN) and aquaculture stakeholders have called for increased investment in value addition and technology adoption to improve profitability and reduce losses in the sector.
The stakeholders made the call in separate interviews on Thursday in Lagos.
They said inadequate value addition, poor post-harvest management and limited technological know-how were major factors affecting profitability in the aquaculture value chain.
Mr Michael Oke-Tojinu, immediate past Chairman of the Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria, stressed the need for greater investment in post-harvest management.
“To increase value addition in the Nigerian aquaculture sector, we must pay more attention to post-harvest management and invest more in it.
“The sector must develop more fish derivatives beyond the conventional methods of fish consumption to improve profitability,” he said.
Oke-Tojinu identified cold-chain infrastructure as another critical area requiring investment to minimise post-harvest losses.
“Most fish farmers come under pressure when their fish attain market size and they are unable to secure buyers.
“If they lack the resources to continue feeding the fish, they are often forced to sell at very low prices, sometimes below production costs.
“With an effective cold-chain and value-addition system, fish can be preserved, processed and converted into various products once they reach the desired size,” he said.
According to him, greater profits exist at the marketing end of the aquaculture value chain.
“When farmers recognise this, they will pay more attention to logistics, product presentation and promotion to ensure fish gets to consumers at affordable prices.
“We also need to create more marketing channels to increase utilisation of fish products,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Bashir Owolabi, a fisheries expert, called for continuous training and retraining of fish farmers to improve the quality and export potential of local fish products.
“Value addition remains a major area that requires improvement. Fish is one of the agricultural commodities with strong export potential.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria is unable to export fish to some international markets because our processing facilities do not meet required standards,” he said.
Owolabi urged stakeholders to adopt modern processing technologies to enhance competitiveness.
“The world has gone beyond traditional smoking and drying methods. We should begin to explore freezing and the production of other fish derivatives.
“We need to embrace technology because there is a significant gap in technological input and capacity development among fish farmers and fishermen,” he said.
According to him, post-harvest losses account for between 40 and 45 per cent of agricultural produce, underscoring the need for stronger interventions.
He called on relevant institutions, including the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, to intensify training programmes for fish farmers and fishermen.
“We focus largely on fish farmers, but fishermen also face significant challenges.
“A large proportion of fish harvested from natural water bodies is lost due to poor post-harvest handling and preservation.
“Training and modern technology are essential to reducing losses and improving the quality of exportable fish products,” Owolabi said.
