By Aliyu DANLADI
An aquaculture expert, Mr Temitope Odetola, on Tuesday expressed the fear that there might be influx of imported fish in the Nigerian markets if the sector was not given incentives.
Odetola, who is also the President of Association of Youth Unity in Agriculture (AYUA), made the assertion while speaking in Lagos.
He said that the Nigerian aquaculture counterparts in other countries were experiencing huge incentives from government which had translated to increased production of fish in their countries.
“They have produced so much that they are now looking for countries like Nigeria to come and dump their products. An expert from Germany came to Nigeria recently and we got talking.
“She said that their country had produced so much and Nigeria is one of the countries they had in view to export fishes like Tilapia, Catfish and others.
“I asked why they were able to produce so much and she said it was because their government had supported the sector that the farmer hardly spent large amounts to culture fish.
“It is saddening that they see Nigeria as a dumping ground,” Odetola said.
According to him, Nigeria currently produces about 1.1 million metric tons of fish annually, meanwhile the fish demand is estimated to be 2.6 million metric tons.
