How we became major fish suppliers in Bayelsa — LIFE-ND farmers

In Bayelsa State, many young people are becoming major players in the fish value chain. Ms Juliet Amakoromo was brought into fish farming through the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises-Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) in 2019 under an apprenticeship system. The project is a tripartite programme of the federal government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the […]

In Bayelsa State, many young people are becoming major players in the fish value chain.

Ms Juliet Amakoromo was brought into fish farming through the Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises-Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) in 2019 under an apprenticeship system.

The project is a tripartite programme of the federal government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Ms Amakoromo, along with others, spent more than one year as an “incubatee” learning how to produce fish along all the value chain in established farms in the area.

Today, Ms Amakoromo is the CEO/MD of PTADELA Farms, Yenagoa, where she is a major fingerling supplier not only in the state but also across other states.

Speaking with Daily Trust on her farm last weekend, the she explained how she identified fingerling production as a money-spinner and chose to focus on that aspect.

She said, “After I applied to join the LIFE-ND programme, they sent me to my incubation centre, where I stayed for a year and almost six months under my incubator. He taught me fish farming, processing and fingerling production. I picked more interest in the fingerling production because there was more money there, and I’m a woman, I like money. So, I went into it. First, I started as a marketer.

“I marketed for people that were into fingerling production. Then at a point, I started after the training. I was empowered with 1,500 fingerlings and 50 bags of feed from 2mm to, I think, 6mm which we used to raise our fish. After raising, I sold my fish, but I didn’t have a land of my own then.

“So, I was like, no, this knowledge will not go in vain. I had to start something. So, I started looking for farms. I rented farms to start doing my production. Gradually, I started growing. I started from a small place. I just rented this place to move in because I was expanding.”

Ms Juliet is now an incubator to over 20 other young fish farmers learning how to produce fish.

She told Daily Trust that two weeks ago, the WorldFish came with the gift of tilapia species from Malaysia; diversifying from catfish to tilapia.

Her farm has 36 concrete and earthen ponds. One of the earthen ponds can accommodate 10,000 fish of table size.

With more focus on the hatchery, she has produced millions and supplied them to other well-established fish farmers and beginners.

She said, “I’ve hatched and supplied millions of fingerlings because of the Fadama project. Sometimes we supply 200,000. Then I have clients that I supply; sometimes they buy 60,000, 80,000, depending on their farms.”

She told Daily Trust that her dream was “to be the biggest female producer in this part of the world.”

Mr George Wonyengifie Awo (27) is another fish farmer in the state who also learned how to produce fish under the LIFE-ND programme and is currently on his own.

Although he is yet to register his farm, he currently produces between 1,000 and 1500 on his farm.

Asked why he had not been able to expand his production, he said one of the things he learnt in farming was to start small and allow the experience to scale up the farm.

Explaining the efficacy of the incubation, the Bayelsa State Coordinator of LIFE-ND said it allowed the young people to see different opportunities that abounded in the commodities they worked with such as cassava and plantain, poultry and fish farming, adding that so far over 4200 young people had benefited from the system in the state.

He explained that, “We adopt the incubator model where we have incubators, those who own farms and we bring in ‘incubatees’; those who do not own farms but are interested in agriculture, and we make sure we reach out to those who are interested so that the entire system is not wasted.

“So, there are people who are interested in agriculture and we tie them to the incubators for a period of training.

“As you know, Bayelsa is one of the smallest states with the lowest number of local governments. We have eight of them, and the LIFE-ND project is supposed to cut across different communities in each of these local governments. So, we’ve taken advantage of that to make sure we reach out to all the local governments and get all the communities within these local governments and the youths involved in the programme. I can tell you that we have reached out to over 4,500 youths and women.”

The National Project Coordinator of LIFE-ND, Engr. (Dr.)  Abiodun Sanni, said the agri-entrepreneurship initiative, the “incubator-incubatee” model, had proven to be very effective, hence that conversation was ongoing to scale it up to the entire country.

He said, “This model takes its roots from the traditional master-apprenticeship system popularly practiced in the Eastern region of Nigeria