By Precious Ireoluwa
For Nigeria to achieve its quest for self-sufficiency in fish production, there is urgent need to strengthen its aquafeed production.
This was suggested by a Professor of Fish Nutrition and Aquaculture Management, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti ,EKSU, Adejoke Abeni Adewumi, at the 88th inaugural lecture of the Institution. .
In the lecture titled ,”Re-engineering The Food of Teleosts And Evaluating Their Benefits”, Prof. Adewumi said Nigeria is the largest fish consumer in Africa, with high taste for choice species, and fourth largest fish importer in the world with about 3.6 million metric tons of fish consumed annually. Out of which the country can only meet up to 31.19% locally.
According to her,” as the world population grows, there is increased consumption of fish and the need for the production of enough fish to meet up with the growing demand. Humans began to eating fish at least two million years ago, and the practice of harvesting and consuming seafood is ancient one”.
She added that man eats fish for a variety of health benefits such as heart health, muscle health, immune function, sleep quality, reproductive health. While other nutrients found in fish include: Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Iron, Phosphorus, Nacin, Magnesium, Zinc and Potassium. The university don noted that the American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week as part of a healthy diet.
Prof. Adewumi further remarked that research in fish production is therefore becoming a necessity to address challenges, improve sustainability and increase production.
“With almost six in ten households experiencing food insecurity, Nigeria spends 1billion USD annually on fish imports, accounting for 45% of its supply and current fish demand consumption in Nigeria stands at over 3.6 million metric tons. Nigeria needs to arrest these huge capital flights and thousands of jobs being exported “.
As a way forward in fish production in Nigeria, the inaugural lecturer advanced the following:
- As the federal government has floated the Ministry of Blue Economy and Marine Resources, it is important for the relevant states to follow suit at the same level. This can direct more attention to mariculture and take advantage of the huge resources in the marine environment;
- Governments at all levels should provide assistance to the agricultural sector by allocating a larger chunk of funds from the state budget for the blue economy;
- There is need for the government to fund more research on the use of alternatives to these important components of animal feed at the micro level;
- The government needs to encourage young persons involved in aquafeed production by providing them incentives such as trainings, soft loans and others;
- There is need for the government to double efforts at improving national security. This is because many farmers are abandoning farms, resulting in rising costs of grains and legumes that serve as basic feedstuffs for fish production;
- Fish farmers can adequately incorporate maggots into their feed formulation because of its high protein content. Or serve maggot cakes in-between meals as snacks. Through this, the farmer will get his ‘fish weight ‘ result in shorter time than if you were feeding on standardized feed alone and thus reduce cost of production.
Meanwhile, Prof. Adewumi pledged an award of #750,000 that will run for ten years for the best graduating student in her department. An initiative she kicked off immediately after the lecture by handing over the said sum to the school authorities.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ayodele Babatola commended the inaugural lecturer for immensely contributing to the knowledge of her field. The VC said Prof. Adewumi has reaffirmed her academic prowess in fishery and aquaculture.
Prof. Babatola encouraged other Professors to get set to take their turns of the inaugural lecture since it is a way of proving their meetle in their various fields and enriching their knowledge.
