Do you want to go into fish farming in Nigeria?
Well, now that we're all encouraged to go into agriculture in Nigeria, you may find yourself wondering what form of agricultural activities to get involve in.
Should you keep livestock or fish? It will make more sense if you know exactly what you're getting into from a business perspective.
Why is that necessary? It is because data from Bureau of Labour Statistics, as reported by Fundera, estimates approximately 70 percent failure rate for new small businesses.
According to the report, 20 percent of small businesses will fail within the first year, 30 percent at the end of the second year and at the end of the fifth year, about half will fail. While only 30 percent will survive to the end of a decade.
Although this data may differ from what is obtainable here in Nigeria, there's the need for you to know more about any business before going into it. This is where this guide comes in.
First, before you start rearing fish, you need to know what it is. So, let's know more about fish farming.
What Is Fish Farming?
Fish farming is the name given to the activity where someone brings newly hatched fish or fingerlings into a fish pond, and in some instances natural water body and rear them until they grow into a mature fish. Some people call it aquaculture but, fish farming is different from aquaculture.
Aquaculture is the art, science and business where someone carry out controlled breeding of different aquatic animal and plant species such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and so on in fresh or marine waters for human use while, fish farming is an aspect of aquaculture that deals primarily with fish.
Let me break it down a bit:
When it comes to fish farming, there’s you, the fish pond, or water bodies, and the newly hatched fishes or fingerlings. All what is needed from you is raising the fish commercially in tanks or enclosures such as fish ponds until they're matured for sale or consumption.
Fish farming in Nigeria may have started about 50 years ago but, it is still a new way of making money as a farmer.
So, let us move on by learning about the terms used in this agrobusiness.
1. Fish Farming Terminologies
Fish farming just like any other agricultural activities, can be a bit confusing for a beginner. So pay attention to the following terms:
1. Fish
A fish is any cold blooded aquatic vertebrate animal with gills and fins.
2. Fingerling
A newly hatched fish in the stage of developing fins and extending scales.
3. Fry
This is the development stage of fish immediately after the larvae stage, at an age of less than a week.
4. Fish pond
Fish pond is a controlled area filled with water and stocked with fish during fish farming.
5. Culture tanks
Culture tanks are artificial holding areas used in rearing farm stocks.
6. Fish Farm
Fish farm is the location you will use in growing your fish.
Types of Fish Farming In Nigeria
There are three classes of pond culture systems or what most people call types of fish farming in Nigeria. Depending on the level of feeding and fertilization, this pond culture system or types of fish farming include the following:
1. Extensive fish farming
Where you can farm small number of fish using what is available naturally on the pond without supplementation ( either by feed or fertilizer). This type of fish farming is cheap to go into but, it is less productive and less profitable.
2. Semi-intensive fish farming
Here, you can add manure to boost the natural food supply of the pond together with some supplementary feed. Semi-intensive fish farming is more costly than extensive fish farming but, it will deliver better results in terms of productivity and profit.
3. Intensive fish farming
Needs more care, supervision and management since you'll provide the fish with protein-rich feed and apply fertilizer to boost the natural food supply of the pond. You'll also disinfect the pond against parasites and diseases and apply liming materials occasionally. Don't worry about the high cost that is involved in this type of fish farming because, you'll see a very high level of productivity and profit if done properly. If you're interested in going into fish farming in Nigeria, I'll recommend this intensive culture system.
After deciding on the type of fish farming to go into, it's time to follow the next step by constructing your fish pond.
Why You Should Go Into Fish Farming And Benefits Of Fish Farming in Nigeria
There are many reasons why you should get involved in fish farming in Nigeria. They include:
1. To Reduce High Unemployment Rate
Nigeria is a country with large population of unemployed individuals and this is not going to end soon. So, you need to go into fish farming so as to create employment for yourself and others.
During a successful fish farming season, you can employ many people to help you with farm work, transportation, harvesting or even selling of the harvested fish.
2. To End Malnutrition
Many Nigerians especially children are malnourished. You have to lend a helping hand by going into fish farming in Nigeria so that fish can be enough to go round.
Fish is high in protein and when more households go into raising them, the price will be low for many to buy.
3. To Lift Nigerians Out Of Poverty
Lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty shouldn't be left for government alone. If you succeed in fish farming, there will be enough money in your pocket for expansion of the business. When this happens, more Nigerians will be employed, fed and lifted out of poverty.
Disadvantages Of Fish Farming in Nigeria
Although fish farming has many benefits, it also comes with its disadvantages which I'll explain below.
1. Losses Due To Diseases
When you stock and confine many fish in your pond, you increase their risks of being infected with disease causing organisms. If any of them gets infected with parasites, bacteria, or viruses, it can easily spread to others which in turn may lead to huge financial losses.
2. Environmental Pollution And Degradation
Fish farming can have harmful effects on the environment. Chemicals in the form of disinfectants, antibiotics, and fertilizers can leak into surrounding soil and water leading to loss of fertile agricultural land, plants and animals.
3. High Set Up Cost
Running a successful fish farming can be capital intensive especially in areas without good source of water.
Again, the cost of fish feed, staff salaries, maintenance, disease control, packaging, transportation and stocking the facility with fish can run into millions of Naira. This high cost can discourage a beginner.
Fish Farming Step 1: Construct Your Fish Pond
Before you can start fish farming in Nigeria, you need to construct a fish pond. So, how do you get started building your fish pond? Start by selecting the best sites that have fine-textured clays and silty clays extending well below the proposed pond depth.
Try as much as you can to avoid sites with porous soils, either at the surface or at the depths through which the pond would be cut. Also check the topography of the land and source of water supply.
Then, choose any of the fish pond construction designs below.
Types of Fish Pond Construction in Nigeria
Depending on your budget there are many ways you can construct a fish pond in Nigeria. But the common fish pond construction designs include:
1. Earthen ponds
If you're just starting out, you can make this type of fish pond by digging soil in a carefully selected site that is good enough to retain water for fish farming. If the soil structure you want to construct your earthen pond is weak to retain enough water, reinforce it with concrete. Earthen pond is easy to construct and requires little to no experience. It's cheap, cost effective, looks natural to fishes and encourages the growth of phytoplankton.
Earthen ponds are of two types, the dug-out pond and the embankment pond.
Dug-out pond
This type of fish pond is very simple to construct since it involves digging into the soil. Depending on your water supply, dug-out pond comes in two main types - dug-out ponds fed by rain and surface runoff, commonly found in relatively flat, well-drained terrain such as the low point of a natural depression, and dug-out ponds fed by springs or seepage, the latter being commonly found in areas where the ground water table is close to the surface, either permanently or seasonally.
2. Concrete ponds
Concrete pond is the most common type of fish pond in Nigeria. This is because it requires a small portion of land for construction. You can use concrete in constructing a fish pond on a porous or sandy soil without any negative effects on the fish. You can also monitor fish growth, control predators, and grow all types and sizes of fish. But it's expensive for beginners.
3. Barrage ponds
If your site is located near slow running streams in low valleys or dams, you should make a barrage fish pond by building a wall across the stream. The walls you construct will help in retaining enough water in the barrage pond for your fish growth.
4. Tarpaulin and Rubber fish pond
Tarpaulin and rubber fish pond is easy to install, cheaper and easy to move about unlike the earthen and concrete ponds.
Fish Farming Step 2: Select the right Species of Fish
Fish farming is all about commercial production of fish, and it's up to you to select the right fish from the thousands of available species.
So, do your research and select the right fish. You can go for Catfish, Tilapia, Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis, Clarias nigro-digitatus or Heterobranchus spp, or any other species that is profitable in Nigeria.
The most profitable type of fish in Nigeria
Beginners usually ask, “what is the most profitable fish to farm in Nigeria?”
If you're concerned about this, first of all consider the Nigerian climate, the growth rate of the fish and available gap in the market.
If you take the above factors into consideration, you'll realise that Tilapia and Catfish is the most profitable fish to farm in Nigeria.
Tilapia and Catfish can grow easily in our tropical weather condition and they're in high demand in Nigeria.
You should consider starting out with Tilapia. This is because aside from thriving well under warm water, tilapia also tolerate poor water quality and grow well even on a low protein feed.
You should also try out Catfish because some of them have tolerance for handling, good feed conversion, high dress-out percentage, and ease of spawning. They also tend to do well on flat bottomed ponds filled with water.
Fish Farming Step 3: Stock Healthy Fingerlings
If your fingerlings are healthy, and your fish pond in good shape, then you can expect a bumper harvest.
But, if you stock unhealthy fingerlings in a congested fish pond, then you should expect less from your fish farm.
On the contrary, if your fish pond is properly constructed but the fingerlings in it are unhealthy, then you'll have a poor yield.
This is why you should stock healthy fingerlings in your farm.
Fish Farming Step 4: Go for the Right Feed
Now that you have known more about fish farming in Nigeria, let's delve into the growth of your fingerlings.
You can construct the best fish pond and stock the most healthy fingerlings but, if the feed given to your fish lack essential nutrients, there will be stunted growth.
Although all the nutrients in a fish feed is important, the three most important are protein, carbohydrate, and lipid. These nutrients are needed by your fish for numerous physiological processes and physical activities.
Types of Fish Feed In Nigeria
There are many types of fish feed. The feed you give to your fish may be natural, supplementary or complete.
You don't need to buy natural feed since they occur naturally in the pond. Natural feed include bacteria, detritus, plankton, worms, insects, snails, aquatic plants and fish.
However, you can buy supplementary and complete feed. Supplementary feed are cheap materials like terrestrial plants, kitchen wastes or agricultural by-products available locally.
Complete feed is what most intensive fish farmers in Nigeria give to their fish. As the name implies, complete feed is carefully formulated to meet all the nutritional needs of your fish.
The names of the common fish feed in Nigeria include: Vital, Ecofloat, Jonah, BlueCrown, Aqualis, Coppens, etc.
Fish Farming Step 5: Harvest Your Fish
You should be able to harvest your fish after they've grown to table size and matured for consumption.
You can do this by using either a net or draining away all the water volume in cases where you are harvesting all the fish. Remember, different species of fish are harvested at different stages and weight.
If you want to make more profit, harvest your fish using the right method at the right time. Don't wait until they've overgrown. This takes us to the next step.
Fish Farming Step 6: Market Your Fish Before Maturity
You should be able to rear a table-sized fish successfully after following the steps above. So, what next? Do you want to consume your fish or sell them?
If you have the intention of selling your matured fish, always begin the marketing process early. This will enable you to sell your fish before they're fully grown. If you wait until they're matured before marketing them, it may be too late since finding potential customers may be hard sometimes.
How to Finance Your Fish Farming in Nigeria
As I'm writing this post, the Nigerian government through NIRSAL and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) is giving out grants and low interest rate loans to those interested in going into agriculture. I have written extensively on how you can get this NMFB or NIRSAL loans. Try and apply for it if you need funding for your fish farming business in Nigeria.
Conclusion
You can really start and run a successful fish farming in Nigeria by following simple steps. Don't ignore this agrobusiness anymore.
Fish farming gives good returns on investment to those willing to learn the inside out of how it works. But it can also lead to losses if you're unwilling to learn and seek the opinions of experts in the field.
As a beginner who is just starting out, you need to know the meaning of terms associated with fish farming. You also have to acquire a suitable site, construct a pond or buy a rubber fish pond, get connected to good source of water, stock the pond with fingerlings, feed and care for them until maturity.
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for running a successful fish farming in Nigeria. Just follow what works best for you and adapt as you grow.
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