By Obiabin Onukwugha
In recent years, fish farming has become a viable source of income and employment among Nigerians.
Nigerians love seafood, probably because it is blessed with many rivers, streams and the ocean. Traditional fishing can pose some difficulties because it comes with some costs such as fishing gears, boats and as well techniques.
With modern fishing practices, these Nigerians no longer need these items to either eat fish or fish. Unlike in most communities where fish ponds are dug near streams and rivers, modern fishing can be done right inside your compound or on farmland.
Mudfish and tilapia are most farmed in Nigeria and there is readily a market with viability running into millions and billions of Naira.
Dupe Killa-Kafidipe, founder and CEO of Platinum Fisheries, is one Nigerian who has made an impact through fish farming.
Dupe discovered the value of not simply giving people money but equipping them with education and vocational training, an idea expressed by the fishing-related adage: “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
“My passion for conservation, sustainability, and efficiency in operations came together. This is no longer going to be just about fish farming. All organizations must think like this in the future. If we’re going to scale, we must do it responsibly,” she said in a post.
In 2016, Dupe founded Platinum Fisheries to address both Nigeria’s food insecurity challenges and the impact of traditional wild fishing on fish populations.
The ethical seafood production and distribution company supplies fish and other seafood products to more than three million households from its two-hectare farm on the outskirts of Lagos.
In addition to producing fish for wholesale, Platinum Fisheries sells organically produced fingerlings and feed meals to other fish farms.
Beyond supplying seafood, the Platinum Fisheries mission includes helping transition fishermen to fish farming in an environmentally sound way with training and mentoring. “If we’re going to farm fish, we better do it correctly,” Dupe said.
It was gathered that Platinum Fisheries’ training has helped 65 fishermen transition to sustainable farming, and the goal is to reach 500 within the coming year.
In the near future, Dupe sees herself in an ideal position to bring the Platinum Fisheries ethos beyond the seafood industry.
She said: “We have the responsibility to provide food for our increasing population. We have the duty to provide for the future that we won’t be part of, to lay the foundations for future generations.”
In a recent post on her Instagram handle, Dupe celebrated her being recognized as one of ten remarkable women entrepreneurs across Africa at the Start-Up Night Africa in the Netherlands, an event organized by Lioness Africa.
