S.B. Williams1, B.D. Olaosebikan2, A.O. Adeleke3 and O.A. Fagbenro4
1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria 2 Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New-Bussa, Nigeria
3 Federal Department of Fisheries, Abuja, Nigeria
4 Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the status of the catfish farming industry in Nigeria. The industry is responsible for 70 percent of aquaculture production, Clarias gariepinus being the most widely cultured species. Production of fingerlings and feed, especially floating feed, are major constraints that pose significant challenges to the industry. Priority areas and likely future directions are suggested.
INTRODUCTION
Nigerians consume an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of fish annually with a per capita consumption of 7.512 kg. Meanwhile, national production from both capture fisheries and aquaculture stands at 450,000 tonnes. Over 800,000 tonnes of fish are imported to meet the annual demand (AIFP 2004a). Catfish farming and, indeed, aquaculture offer strong potential for growth to meet the national fish demand, thereby reducing importation, providing employment, alleviating poverty, and helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals. This potential is great because Nigeria is endowed with over 12 million hectares of inland water and suitable soil for fish farming. After the Fish for All Summit of 2005 in Nigeria, the awareness and interest in fish farming has increased tremendously. Over 5,000 prospective farmers have been trained in nation-wide fish farming workshops in five geo-political zones of the country with as many as 40 percent adopting the practice almost immediately. The federal government recently launched the implementation of the Catfish Industry
Value Chain Development through a $34-million5 loan facility through the World
Bank (public-private partnership initiative). This highlights the growing importance of the catfish industry in Nigeria.
The catfish species that are cultured include Clarias gariepinus, C. anguillaris, Heterobranchus bidorsalis, H. longifilis, C. isheriensis, C. submarginatus, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Bagrus sp. and Synodontis sp., but C. gariepinus is undoubtedly the fish of choice for farmers. C. gariepinus is the most cultured fish in Nigeria and, indeed, Africa, and third in the world (Garibaldi 1996). It can then be inferred that Nigeria is the highest global producer of this clariid catfish. Research on the development of farming technology of C. gariepinus has been carried out in Europe (i.e. Belgium and the Netherlands) as well as in Africa, namely the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast and South Africa (Hetch et al. 1996). Nigeria has benefited the most by far from these research activities due to several factors: the high demand for fish from almost 140 million Nigerians; the fish being found in every part of country and relished compared to carp and tilapia that were first introduced for aquaculture in Nigeria; and the maintenance of its quality when smoked dried. Its hardiness is due to the presence of an air-breathing organ, its omnivorous feeding habit, and ability to withstand adverse environmental conditions. In addition, its high fecundity and the availability of mass artificial seed techniques (Haylor 1992; and Hecht et al. 1996) facilitate its culture without fear of overpopulation by uncontrolled breeding, such as in tilapia. The diversification of culture environments including concrete
tanks, fiber glass tanks and, more recently, water re-circulation systems (WRS) have resulted in catfish production overtaking tilapia culture in Nigeria.
OVERVIEW OF COUNTRY
PRODUCTION
The quantity of catfish produced from aquaculture in Nigeria is grossly underestimated as a result of many factors including lack of capacity for data collection, reluctance and lack of transparency of some farm owners, and the fact that many catfish are consumed by the households that produce them. The percentage of catfish production in the total fish production over more than a decade is shown in Figure 1. There has been a steady increase in the production of catfish since the mid-nineties. Catfish accounts for 70 percent of fish production from aquaculture in Nigeria.
PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Catfish farming can be divided into two broad categories depending on the organization, input and level of intensification. The first category is the small-scale farmer that practices catfish farming as a sole business or on a part-time basis, employing relatively unsophisticated techniques. The part- time farmers are the most common. Feed consists mainly of household or farm waste, compounded or in an earthen fishpond,
depending on fertilization and natural production. The levels of intensification are low and, consequently, so are the yields. The second group is the large commercial farmers that produce catfish using tanks with varying degrees of aeration and re- circulation. Among this group are highly sophisticated intensive re-circulation systems developed with foreign technical assistance. These commercial farms are mainly concentrated in and around urban centers and use imported brood stock (Dutch Clarias) and feed. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank group, has predicted that catfish production in Nigeria will increase by 40,000 tonnes before 2010 with $160 million in income (IFC 2007). There is a need and much scope for research on the possibilities of establishing efficiently run large-scale sole catfish enterprises because the present ones are integrated with other agro-allied industries. According to a 2003 survey (Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries Project 2004a), there are 2,658 fish farms in Nigeria, 2,152 of which culture catfish alone or in polyculture with Oreochromis niloticus and Heterotis niloticus. Generally, 77 percent of these farms are found in the south of the country. The regional distribution of catfish farms in Nigeria is shown in Figure 2. The southwest geopolitical region has the highest number of farms followed by south-south (mainly in the Delta State). It is important to note that the high number of farms in the south- south is mainly due to the terrain (i.e. riverine
0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 Me tr ic t o n n e s All fish Catfish
floodplain) with many natural ponds that are put to use by the people. The northeast has the lowest number of catfish farms due to the supply of cheaper fish from capture fisheries in Lake Chad. In the southwest, catfish farming is so developed that most farmers practice monoculture and have formed themselves into associations and cooperatives. Some of these associations date back to the late 1980s. A study of some fish farmers in Oyo state (southwest) showed that the majority (46.7%) of the respondents make use of earthen ponds, while 20 percent and 33 percent use flow-through and re- circulation ponds, respectively (Olagunju et al. 2007).
Various receptacles including earthen ponds, tanks made of concrete, fiber glass, plastic and aluminum are used in farming catfish in Nigeria with culture environments ranging from extensive with little or no supplemental feeding to intensive with a complete water re-circulatory system. Two main systems are presently popular in Nigeria, the pond and concrete tanks, but there is a growing trend towards the use of concrete tanks with or without aeration as they ensure water conservation, reduce feed wastage and facilitate better management. The advantages of the recently applied water re-circulation system over the simple well- aerated concrete tank are yet to be proven. The gradual change in Nigeria from the earthen pond system to the concrete tank system is one of the factors for the rapid development observed in the industry over the last few years.