Contributions of Fish Farming To Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria

Over 840 million people lack adequate access to food and about 25% of these are in sub- Saharan Africa. Fish farming is often cited as one of the means of efficiently increasing food production thereby alleviating poverty. Aquaculture production has intensified throughout many regions of the world including Nigeria. Of the different global food production system, fish farming is generally viewed as an important domestic provider of much needed high-quality animal protein and other essential nutrients, generally at affordable prices to the poorer segments of the community. it is also an important provider of employment opportunities, cash income and valuable foreign exchange. Aquaculture production in Nigeria stands at about 200,535 metric tones per annum representing 24.52% of the total domestic fish production. Nigeria needs about 1.8 to 2.6 million metric tones of fish annually to satisfy her fish demand to meet the 13.2 kg per capital global requirement for fish consumption. Inadequate access to land and water resources, fingerlings, feed, capital, research and human resources development have been cited as constraints for fish farming development. In future, there will continue to be a shift away from traditional fishing as the world continues to experience a paradigm shift in seafood production. Much of the current research in the field of aquaculture is being directed towards making the industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly.