FCT fish farm estate lies dormant

Nigeria’s fish production is estimated at about 700,000 metric tonnes while consumption is put at about 2.6 million metric tonnes per annum. The low output has created a shortfall which the country augments with massive importation costing billions of naira annually.Inadequate fish supply across the country including the FCT has led to a low annual […]

Nigeria’s fish production is estimated at about 700,000 metric tonnes while consumption is put at about 2.6 million metric tonnes per annum. The low output has created a shortfall which the country augments with massive importation costing billions of naira annually.
Inadequate fish supply across the country including the FCT has led to a low annual per capita fish consumption rate of about 7.5 kilogrammes per year against the 13.5 kilogrammes per year recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).
In order to tackle the fish production and importation challenges, the FCT administration has over the years fashioned out various policies, projects and programmes to boost fish production in the territory that include the establishment of the estate.
Secretary, FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat Mrs. Olavadi Bema Madayi said in an earlier interview with Daily Trust that, “We have established 10 hectares of fish farm estate in Bwari. The land has been demarcated and allocated to interested farmers. It is our projection that when completed, the estate will provide employment to about 2,000 beneficiaries.”
The FCT came up with the fish farm estate initiative among others to encourage fish farmers in the territory to produce more and contribute their own quota to national production. But the project commissioned sometime in 2012 at Barangoni village in Bwari Area Council amidst fanfare by the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, is still far from achieving its desired objective as the fish farmers have not started operation.
Our reporters recently visited the fish farm estate, which has been described by many stakeholders as a laudable project, but discovered that it was overgrown by weeds and fish farmers were not sighted as only one farmer is said to have dared all odds to start operation few months ago.
Findings showed that the estate, said to be carefully planned, occupying 10 hectares of land with about 100 beneficiaries, is expected to produce about 500 metric tonnes of table fish per annum. Each beneficiary has a space for a flat and triplet concrete ponds behind the building.
Some of the developments noticed at the estate include an administrative block, guest house, police post, security post, bank building under construction, non-functional borehole, unpaved access roads, demonstration fish ponds and fish ponds constructed in all the allocated plots. The estate has provision for clinic, shops and cold rooms among others.
Our reporters met a farmer who said only one fish farmer is currently operating at the estate and also sighted buildings of about two other beneficiaries under various stages of completion.
Investigation, however, showed that the main causes of the delay in the takeoff of the project are lack of water and electricity.         
The farmer, who also said he has an undeveloped plot at the estate also said: “As you can see we cannot operate because of water problem. Even the only farmer that started operation here had to sink a borehole before he could operate. There is no light, and you must have your own generator and buy fuel as well. It is very expensive.”
Many of the fish farmers said they were not among the original beneficiaries of the land allocation at the estate but that they bought the allocation from the original beneficiaries and that many of them are trying to obtain soft loans from banks to develop the deserted estate.
Our reporters gathered that some of the beneficiaries amidst frustration are now looking for those to buy their allocations.
The farmers seen at the estate also called on the FCT authorities to beef up security at the estate so as to safeguard the farmers’ investments as thieves have scaled the fence twice and stole fishes from the only farm there. The fish have not even attained table size.   
Reacting to the development, the Director of Agriculture, FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Alhaji Ovurevu Isa Ademoh, blamed the situation on lack of funds, saying that concerted efforts are being made by the secretariat to address the challenges of water and electricity soonest.
He said: “The borehole that provides water at the estate has been vandalised and the secretariat is repairing it to provide temporary solution to the water problem. We have also made arrangement to tap water from the pipe that connects water from Gurara dam to Lower Usman dam as a permanent solution.”
Alhaji Ademoh told Daily Trust that even as water is the most important thing at the estate, arrangement is being made to supply electricity to the estate as well to make business and life better for the fish farmers and their workers.
He explained that the project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement where the government is to provide infrastructure such as water, light and access roads among others, while the beneficiaries are to build their structures and construct the ponds.
The director disclosed that a meeting with the beneficiaries has been scheduled for next week to resolve all outstanding issues affecting the smooth running of the estate.