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Okwe Obi, Abuja
Fish farmers, under the aegis of Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, has solicited the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Landing (NIRSAL) to boost production, especially as COVID-19 hardship bites harder.
Its acting National Secretary, Usman Shettima, who recently spoke at the opening of fish market in Abuja, noted that the pandemic and rising insecurity, have led to the high cost of fish feeds.
He said: “COVID-19 has affected our business. Our people are finding it difficult to go to the farm. They are finding it difficult to market and transport our goods even if they have it. The northeast produce fish a lot but because of insecurity and movement restriction it has affected us a lot. We are hoping that the CBN and NIRSAL will give us palliatives. “Our problem is the cost of fish feeds which comprise about 70 per cent of our total investment. Another problem is the lack of modern fishing practices. If we can equip our farmers with modern skills, it would assist us in producing more.”
