The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has called on investors and financial institutions to tap into Nigeria’s vast catfish industry, describing the country’s fish production deficit as a major investment opportunity capable of driving economic growth, food security and job creation.
The Minister made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the High-Level Roundtable on Scaling Sustainable Catfish Value Chain Transformation, organised under the Fisheries and Aquaculture for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (FISH4ACP) programme. Oyetola said Nigeria’s annual fish requirement stood at approximately 3.6 million metric tonnes, while domestic production from all sources was about 1.4 million metric tonnes, leaving a significant supply gap that local aquaculture operators and prospective investors could exploit.
According to the minister, “Expanding domestic fish production is an economic and food security imperative. It offers an opportunity to strengthen domestic food supply, reduce dependence on fish imports, stimulate enterprise development and create sustainable livelihoods across the country.” He noted that Nigeria was Africa’s second-largest aquaculture producer and a leading producer of farmed African catfish, stressing that the sector’s potential extended beyond fish farming to hatcheries, feed mills, equipment manufacturing, transportation, processing, cold-chain services and trading.
“Investment in aquaculture has a multiplier effect, creating opportunities and value across several interconnected sectors of the economy,” he said. Oyetola, however, maintained that closing the production gap would require more than establishing additional fish farms, insisting on coordinated investments across the entire value chain.
He identified access to quality fingerlings, affordable feed, appropriate financing, effective fish health management, reliable markets and modern infrastructure as essential to sustainable industry expansion. Highlighting the contributions of FISH4ACP, the minister commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the European Union and the German Government for supporting Nigeria’s catfish value chain.
He said the programme had identified critical industry constraints and demonstrated practical interventions in alternative feed ingredients, including black soldier fly larvae, hatchery management, broodstock improvement, business development and digital farm management.
On access to finance, Oyetola urged lenders to develop credit arrangements that reflect the realities of fish farming. “The timing of disbursement, repayment schedules and cost of credit must reflect the production cycle and cash-flow patterns of fish farming enterprises,” he said, adding that viable businesses should not be constrained by unsuitable financing arrangements.
The minister identified high feed and energy costs, inconsistent supplies of quality fingerlings, inadequate fish health management, weak biosecurity and insufficient processing and cold-storage facilities as major challenges confronting the industry. He nevertheless described these constraints as investment opportunities, particularly in feed manufacturing, modern hatcheries, processing facilities, cold-chain infrastructure and improved logistics.
He assured investors of the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment through stronger coordination with state governments, regulatory institutions and private sector operators. He also pledged deeper engagement with development finance institutions to promote affordable financing, improved sector data, research, quality assurance and technical support.
Oyetola further advocated the establishment of aquaculture clusters and cooperative arrangements to reduce operating costs, facilitate shared infrastructure and improve access to services. He called for deliberate inclusion of women and young people, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises, in the industry’s expansion, stressing that economic growth must go hand in hand with environmental sustainability.