‘Our modern technologies in poultry and fishery are cost effective’
Could you please tell us the modern technologies you have in poultry, fishery and other areas of agriculture that can make farmers more productive? In fish farming we have a lot of modern products. First of all we have mobile fish ponds. You don’t need to build concrete ponds any more. With this one, you […]
Could you please tell us the modern technologies you have in poultry, fishery and other areas of agriculture that can make farmers more productive?
In fish farming we have a lot of modern products. First of all we have mobile fish ponds. You don’t need to build concrete ponds any more. With this one, you can have your farm anywhere; in the backyard or anywhere you have a space. You don’t need to construct. If you are a tenant you can’t build anything in somebody’s land, but you can use the mobile ponds and farm your fish. Any day you are moving out, you pack your ponds and take them away. In that pond we have different types of aerators; we have splashing and spraying aerators, which make the fish to eat better and also grow better. For example, normal water for fish has about 8% oxygen, but if you put our spraying aerator there, in the neighbourhood of 2hrs it will rise to about 80%. That will make the changing of water not to be frequent. And if you have light always, it will make the fish to grow better up to 25% of what it is supposed to be within six months of harvesting period. So, it is very cost effective.
What we have in hatchery is bio-filter with in-built ultra-violet (uv) light that makes hatching easy. The filter cleans the water and the uv light kills the bacteria that may affect your hatchery. So, you can have successful hatchery with our bio-filter that has in-built uv light. It is essential for modern fish farming.
In poultry, we have modern poultry cages for layers and broilers. We also have incubators, but one thing that is special about our incubator is that other incubators can hatch only one type of egg; either chicken or quail, while our own comes with various trays that if you want to hatch chicken egg, quail egg, turkey egg, geese egg, duck egg you can do that all in one. You only change the tray to suit the purpose. So, that’s the advantage of our incubator.
How cost effective are these technologies?
The difference is not much. It’s only small added cost which is not significant. Like the incubator, poultry farmers don’t need to buy many incubators now. These technologies are simple to use and increase yield, so the farmers will have more income.
If the farmer runs into any hitch with the incubator, can it be easily resolved?
Yes. If it is a problem that he can manage by himself, okay. But if it’s the one he cannot, he can call us and we give free advice on how to get it done.
What response are you getting from the farmers?
We are getting good response. Most of our products are unique. Like the mobile fish ponds, we were the first that introduced it in Nigeria. People are coming and we are trying to improve our products to get better quality.
What is the longevity of the mobile ponds compared with the earthen and concrete ponds?
Our mobile ponds can last up to five years if carefully used. But some concrete ponds will start cracking in less than two years and the water will be leaking. The advantage with the mobile pond is that you can remove it if it is getting old and replace it without stress. It won’t cost you any money. If you have to break the concrete pond, you need to invite people to come and do it at a cost. If you pay N45,000 per day for five days, that will cost a lot.
What does it take to start fish farming with the mobile ponds?
You can start small. With N50, 000 you can start. We have various sizes for different types of farmers.
How much does one need to start fish hatchery business?
It depends on the size. The smallest one is N25,000. Then you can get the parent stock. And if you don’t know how to hatch, we train people free. We are based in Lagos, but if large number of fish farmers gathers; at least 100, we can go and train them in any part of the country for free. Whether in Abuja, Sokoto, Kebbi or elsewhere, our representatives are there. It’s our policy that we train farmers free. That’s our own contribution to the development of the country.