Animal protein on high demand in Rivers

Fish is one of the major sources of protein in the state. A significant share of their catches goes for self consumption. Thisn perhaps, gave rise to the erroneous impression that fish is in excess quantity in the state. This assertion is far from the truth as fishing expedition in the riverside of the state […]

Fish is one of the major sources of protein in the state. A significant share of their catches goes for self consumption. Thisn perhaps, gave rise to the erroneous impression that fish is in excess quantity in the state. This assertion is far from the truth as fishing expedition in the riverside of the state is now a dying culture. This is not unconnected to the destructive activities of multinational organisations in oil exploration and exploitation.
Their activities have impacted negatively on fish farming in the state. Oil exploration has degraded and polluted the environment and impacted negatively on sea food production. Various species of sea foods are produced in the state. Some of the sea foods from Rivers State are periwinkle and tilapia fish.
But they are in short supply because it is very difficult to get because of the impact of environmental degradation. Yet, fish farmers have adopted an alternative measure to meet the fish demand of the state by investing in the capital intensive cat fish farming business.
John Ogwu, a fish farmer resident in Abua narrated his frustration in fish farming, saying: “I am a full time fish farmer. Our people are predominantly fish farmers. We don’t have any other occupation other than fish farming. But today fish farming is becoming an uninteresting and frustrating expedition. Oil exploration has contributed in destroying sea food in our area.
“Some of us that have found alternative in cat fish farming to enable us meet the high demands of fish are frustrated because the business is capital intensive.”
“The major fish supply for the state is coming from North. Dry fish are supplied to the state from Lokoja but are quite expensive because of the high transport cost.”
Another source of protein consumed in the state are cattle and goats. The bulk supply of the animal is coming from the North. Trailers load of cattle and goat are supplied to the state on a daily basis from the North.
Abdullahi Adamu, a aattle dealer in Port Harcourt told our correspondent that trailer loads of cattle are transported from Adamawa to the state on a daily basis, adding: “I have been in cattle business for a very long time. We bring cattle from the North to Port Harcourt. But we are having challenges of short supply of cattle because of its high demand.
“At times, we find it difficult to meet the high demand of cattle buyers because of the increasing population of the state. That is the reason why beef is very expensive in this part of the country,” he stated.
Chicken are also in high demand in the state. The residents get their bulk supply from poultry farm scattered across the state. Imported frozen chickens are also brought into the state and patronised by residents.
Bush meat is another source of protein most people cherish in the state. Rabbit has been identified as an economy livestock that could bridge the wide gap in dietary protein intake in Nigeria. It is a micro livestock producing about 47 kilogrames of meat per day which is enough to meet the animal protein requirements of a medium size family under small scale rural farming systems.
An available record shows that rabbit meat is very nutritious, easily digestible and extremely low in cholesterol and sodium level.
Available records in the Etche Local Government Area of the state have shown that between 83% and 140% returns on capital investment are made from rabbit production.
In recent times, there have been reported cases of low animal protein intakes in most rural communities of the Niger Delta due to declining farming and fishing outputs. Such declining catches have been largely attributable to population pressure, alleged use of obnoxious fishing methods, environmental degradation and pollution through sand dredging and mostly oil exploration and exploitation activities.
Daily Trust gathered that the people of the state get their supplies of animal protein from different local sources. Some of the identified sources of animal protein were grass cutter, bush fowl, castle, goat, sheep and monkey. A study carried out recently showed that among the identified sources of animal proteins, the highest number of protein is grass cutter which is always available.
Animal preferred for consumption in the state are grass cutter, bush fowls, rabbit, cattle, goat, sheep and monkey. Studies also showed that grass cutter is most available due to the numerous scavenging and hunting activities carried out on them in the wild. Conversely, in the face of increased deforestation activities due to urbanisation and oil exploration and exploitation, these animals risk being endangered if the current trend is allowed to continue.