Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Seafood worth over N25 billion was exported by operators in Nigeria in 2019, the Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos State, Ms Abisola Olusanya, has disclosed.
She said this over the weekend at the 2020 edition of the Lagos Seafood Festival held at the Muri-Okunola Park, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to her, this huge value from seafood has made the state government implement various projects in the fisheries ecosystem to drive increased food production and socio-economic transformation of the rural areas of the state.
The Commissioner noted that the contribution of the fisheries value chain to the nation’s socio-economic wealth cannot be overemphasised, particularly against the background of employment creation, provision of valuable animal protein, rural development and foreign exchange inflow through the export of shrimps, smoked fish and other fish products.
It is because of this the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babjide Sanwo-Olu, assured that his administration will establish the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (LACE) in collaboration with a private sector investor.
The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Obafemi Hamzat, said the centre should generate no fewer than 5,000 smallholder fish farms, which would, in turn, create about 1,000 indirect jobs during the construction phase and another 500 direct jobs opportunities for people who would be engaged at different phases of the project.
He pointed out that the project includes the establishment of a 50 million fish hatchery facility, projected 2,000 tons per annum table-sized fish production schedule, 24,000 tons per annum fish feed mill as well as a 20,000 ton-per-annum fish and seafood processing centre.
Mr Sanwo-Olu said the present supply of fish and other seafood products in the State was insufficient to meet the fish and seafood demands of Lagosians, hence the need to have a private sector driven aquaculture centre.
He said Lagos State, which has a population of more than 22 million, has a consumption demand for fish and other seafood of 374,000 tons annually with supply at around 155,262 tons per annum, stressing that it is important that Lagosians key into and benefit from the value chain of the aquatic or fisheries business sector to fill the supply deficit.
“We estimated the present supply of fish and other seafood at 174,553 tons per annum to be insufficient for Lagosians, therefore, we have collaborated with a private sector Investor on the establishment of the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence to boost fish production,” he announced.
