{"id":1367,"date":"2026-07-14T14:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:11:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:11:34","slug":"ces-integrates-fish-farming-and-yam-cultivation-to-boost-food-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1367","title":{"rendered":"CES Integrates Fish Farming and Yam Cultivation to Boost Food Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Oliseh Joy Ayomide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies (CES), Campus 3, Obiaruku, Delta State University, is combining aquaculture and yam cultivation to enhance food production, generate income, and provide practical agricultural training for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Body<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fishery unit at CES raises catfish from the fingerling stage to maturity using commercial feed selected according to the fish\u2019s stage of growth. According to Mr. Joseph, Director of CES and head of the fishery and yam cultivation unit, smaller fish are fed with 3 mm pellets, while larger fish receive 4 mm feed to promote healthy growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. Joseph explained that maintaining good water quality is essential for successful fish production. He warned that pesticides and other harmful chemicals must never enter the ponds because they can pollute the water and threaten the survival of the fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The harvested catfish are supplied to marketers, hotels, catering units within CES, and individual consumers, contributing to local food security while generating revenue for the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside the fishery is the yam cultivation unit, where the Izorial yam variety is grown. Mr. Joseph said planting is best carried out between April and May during the rainy season, while harvesting begins after about six months, usually between November and December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He noted that excessive rainfall remains one of the major challenges because it can expose or wash away planted yams. To improve soil fertility and encourage healthy crop development, the farm applies organic manure, particularly poultry manure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students undergoing practical training, together with the farm manager, maintain the yam fields using simple farm tools such as hoes, cutlasses, rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows. Stakes, locally known as \u201creggies,\u201d are also installed to support the climbing yam vines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The farm controls pests with an insecticide known as DD, although termites, ants, and other underground pests continue to pose serious threats. Mr. Joseph also identified poor storage after harvest as a major cause of yam spoilage and insect infestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Challenges and Recommendations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr. Joseph identified poor pond management, chemical contamination, termite and ant attacks, excessive rainfall, and inadequate storage facilities as the major challenges affecting production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He called on government and private organisations to support fish farmers through training, improved water management systems, and access to quality fish feed. He also recommended better drainage systems and modern storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses in yam production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oliseh Joy Ayomide The Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies (CES), Campus 3, Obiaruku, Delta State University, is combining aquaculture and yam cultivation to enhance food production, generate income, and provide practical agricultural training for students. Body The fishery unit at CES raises catfish from the fingerling stage to maturity using commercial feed selected according to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":19,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,35],"tags":[31,354,25,26],"class_list":["post-1367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-education","tag-abraka","tag-ces","tag-delsu","tag-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1369,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions\/1369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}