Stakeholders in the field of aquaculture have expressed the need to promote best practices in catfish and tilapia production in Nigeria considering the growth of the nation’s aquaculture industry in the last two decades.
They spoke recently at a workshop on sustainable aquaculture and best management practices titled, ‘Improving biosecurity: A science-based approach to manage fish disease risks and increase the socio-economic contribution of the Nigerian Catfish and Tilapia Industries.’
The workshop, funded by USAID, was hosted by University of Ibadan in collaboration with the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management, otherwise called WorldFish, Malaysia; and the Mississippi State University, USA.
Prof. Olanike Adeyemo, a Principal Investigator for USAID under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, described the growth of the Nigerian Aquaculture industry in the last 15 years as unprecedented, hence the need to address salient issues.
Adeyemo, who was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UI, said that Ogun and Delta states were chosen for the USAID project.
She explained that “We shall be presenting our findings while engaging stakeholders who are fish farmers, veterinarians, fish biologists, industries, government’s MDAs, policy makers and the media, among others.
“This is in a bid to develop homegrown best management practices for the Nigerian Aquaculture Industry. We shall also be commencing the process of developing a befitting National Aquatic Animal Health and Biosecurity Strategy for implementation by competent authorities in this domain.”
The project’s legacy web platform named ‘E-AquaHealth’ was launched during the workshop.
This, Adeyemo said, would serve as a network to link farmers up with stakeholders and others within the value chain.
“On the platform are other extension resources for farmers, continuing education training opportunities for Veterinarians,” Adeyemo said.
Dr Jerome Delamare-Deboutteville, Co-Principal Investigator, WorldFish, Malaysia, said the workshop would help to disseminate information to stakeholders on research works.
He said that “We have developed a number of materials for extension workers and students. We are working on some advanced techniques for laboratory analysis for the samples collected.
“The goal is to create a network for veterinary experts from the two states (Ogun and Delta), and link them with scientists from UI and other experts outside Nigeria to build capacity at the laboratory level and to create a very strong cluster between farmers, leaders and veterinarians.”
The Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, lauded the initiative, saying that University of Ibadan as a leading research centre in the country, would play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the project.
Prof. Gabriel Ogundipe, Head of Department, Veterinary Medicine, UI, said that the project was well conceived to address core issues relating to aquaculture in Nigeria.
