By Abbas Nazil
WorldFish, in partnership with Trademark Africa and the Mastercard Foundation, has launched an initiative targeting 25,000 women and young people in Nigeria and Tanzania to create jobs and strengthen the competitiveness of the fishery and aquaculture sector.
The project will focus on expanding employment opportunities, promoting climate-smart practices, reducing post-harvest losses and improving access to finance and technology across aquatic food systems.
The Country Representative of WorldFish in Nigeria, Dr Charles Iyangbe, disclosed this at a stakeholder workshop in Ibadan convened to gather inputs for the design and implementation of the initiative.
Iyangbe said the engagement was aimed at identifying major challenges limiting the growth of the fishery and aquaculture sector and developing practical interventions that could improve its competitiveness.
He said the project would support women and young people involved in fisheries and aquatic food systems by creating new employment opportunities and diversifying existing livelihoods.
According to him, the initiative would operate through four major pathways, including innovation in the fish-feed sector, climate-smart aquaculture, digitalisation and access to finance, as well as reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening the value chain.
“The idea, basically, overall is to create jobs.
We have a target of reaching about 25,000 women and youth in Nigeria and Tanzania,” Iyangbe said.
He explained that the intervention would also address production and operational costs as well as socio-economic barriers that continue to limit the performance of fish farmers and other actors across the aquatic food system.
Iyangbe said reducing these barriers would help improve the accessibility and affordability of aquatic foods while creating more opportunities for women and young people to participate in the sector.
He disclosed that the Nigerian component of the project would cover six states, namely Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta.
He added that farmers’ organisations in coastal areas would play an important role in the implementation of the initiative, alongside government institutions and research organisations.
The Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Wellington Omoragbon, said the affordability and availability of quality fish feed remained critical to the productivity and profitability of fish farmers.
Omoragbon expressed concern over the high cost and limited availability of quality feeds, saying feed alone accounts for more than 75 per cent of operational costs for fish farmers.
He called for increased investment and innovation in modern fish production systems to reduce production costs and improve the sustainability of aquaculture businesses.
The director assured the project partners of the government’s commitment to providing the necessary policy and institutional support, while strengthening collaboration with relevant stakeholders to achieve sustainable growth in the sector.
The Senior Expert on Monitoring and Evaluation at the African Continental Free Trade Area, Hadhami Hammi, also expressed readiness to collaborate with partners in developing strategies for effective implementation of the initiative.
Hammi said African countries needed stronger fisheries programmes that could support women and young people to access employment and finance.
The Global President of the World Aquaculture Society, Dr Foluke Areola, described the initiative as timely, particularly amid the rising cost of fish feed and the growing importance of fisheries and aquaculture to food security, livelihoods and economic development.
The workshop brought together representatives of government agencies, private-sector organisations, financial institutions, research bodies and farmers’ groups to contribute to the design of the programme.
The collaboration comes as stakeholders increasingly seek to strengthen Nigeria’s aquatic food systems through improved production, climate resilience, digital tools, finance, value-chain development and reduced post-harvest losses.
