Agric Ministry Diversifies Fish Species Production, Trains and Distributes Tilapia Broodstock to Fish Farmers

Due to a number of fish species that can be cultured in Nigeria and valued at the International Market, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has resolved to diversify the production of flSh species, broodstock and seedling. For decades, Nigerian flSh farmers have limited their productions to Catfish whereas there are other valuable species like shrimp, tilapia, heterotis, etc that are also nutritious and can earn Nigeria foreign exchange.

Therefore, on 11th February, 2019, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, organized a training programme on the Propagation and Culture of Tilapia at the Aquaculture Technology Transfer Centre, Oluponna, Osun State. The beneficiaries are practicing, prospective flsh farmers and hatchery operators drawn from Osun and Oyo States.

The objectives of the training programme were to promote the culture of tilapia, accelerate the propagation of tilapia seed, disseminate tilapia brood stock for seed propagation and build the capacity of farmers in tilapia production. The training workshop was conducted to demonstrate the multiplication and culture of the Tilapia for the participants. So, they were introduced to the culture of the Tilapia and its Hatchery Management to refresh the knowledge of beneficiaries to better handling of the flsh for sustainability and growth of the Tilapia value chain.

Tilapia Fish broodstock were subsequently distributed to participants after the training programme and the Ministry has followed up with the beneficiaries to monitor their progress. The beneficiaries were grateful to the Ministry and commended the effort of the government in diversifying the agriculture subsector in Nigeria.

Source: FMARD