By Christian Njoku
Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security on Thursday inaugurated an ultra-modern Fish Hatchery facility in Calabar, Cross River.
The hatchery which has the capacity of producing more than 20 million juveniles annually with five million every quarter, also has a fully functional laboratory, classrooms for lectures and is also a research centre.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the facility was funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta, (LIFE ND).
Others include the government of Cross River, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Project among other private sector collaborators.
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Speaking before the inauguration of the hatchery, Kyari said apart from adding to food security in the nation, it would also serve as a hub for employment and income generation for youths and women in the aquaculture subsector.
“The South-South region holds significant position as Nigeria’s oil and fishery hubs, motivating the provision of this facility to build the capacity of fish farmers and enhance productivity through research activities.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of Pres. Bola Tinubu is committed to advancing the nations agri-food system through technology and innovation for job creation, youth empowerment and poverty reduction in Nigeria,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Bassey Otu asserted that the model fish hatchery Project was conceptualised to address the challenges of unavailability and inaccessibility of fishes which were identified as impediments to fish farming.
Represented by Mr Johnson Ebokpo, Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Otu said he hoped that the production of fish feeds at a relatively low cost would bring down the cost of production and enhance sales and profit for fish farmers.
He appreciated the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security for a conducive environment for all the interventions the state had received from foreign organisations such as USAID.
Similarly, Mr Abiodun Sanni, National Project Coordinator, LIFE ND said the project which was a testament of effective collaboration was designed to ensure that Niger Delta youths embraced agriculture in its totality.
Sanni noted that while the project was expected to create jobs, wealth and food security in the Niger Delta and Nigeria, it was also expected to revolutionalise aquaculture in Cross River.
Recalling earlier integrated projects carried out in Idoma community, Biase Local Government Area, the coordinator said the LIFE ND project had surpassed its initial target of 25,500 beneficiaries to about 26,470 five years after inception in the six participating states.
Dr Ben Odoemena, Chief of Party, USAID Feed the Future Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services said 20 million juvenile stood for about N1.6 billion that would be injected into the economy of Cross River annually.
Odoemena said if properly maintained, conservatively, the hatchery will inject roughly about N60 billion into Cross River’s economy annually.
(NAN)