{"id":1632,"date":"2026-07-15T14:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T13:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:22:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T13:22:04","slug":"fish-farming-offers-profitable-future-despite-rising-production-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1632","title":{"rendered":"Fish Farming Offers Profitable Future Despite Rising Production Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Obi Martha Chika<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish farming has continued to emerge as one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing agricultural enterprises, with stakeholders calling for greater youth participation despite rising production costs and the physical demands of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fish farmer, Davidson Osayande, and an Industrial Training (IT) student, Egbonodhe Stephanie, made the call during separate interviews, describing aquaculture as a profitable venture capable of creating employment, improving food security, and reducing dependence on imported fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osayande said fish farming remains a lucrative investment for individuals willing to acquire the necessary skills and manage their farms effectively. According to him, his farm raises different species of fish, including catfish, tilapia, grass carp, and red tilapia, with grass carp being one of the latest additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that different pond systems are used in fish production, including earthen ponds, tarpaulin ponds, and concrete ponds, noting that each has its own advantages and management requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We have earthen ponds, tarpaulin ponds, and concrete ponds. Each of them serves a different purpose depending on the stage of production and the available resources,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Osayande stressed that maintaining good water quality is one of the most important aspects of fish farming, explaining that poor water management can lead to disease outbreaks, slow fish growth, and financial losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, the fish are fed twice daily, while regular monitoring of the ponds helps ensure healthy growth and survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He identified poor water quality and inadequate pond management as major challenges facing fish farmers, adding that the success of any fish farm depends largely on discipline, consistency, and technical knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fish farmer urged young Nigerians to embrace agriculture, particularly aquaculture, describing it as a sector with enormous opportunities for wealth creation and self-employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The future is in agriculture. Young people should not see farming as punishment but as a business that can provide sustainable income if it is properly managed,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He also advised aspiring fish farmers to undergo formal training and continue building their knowledge through agricultural education and practical field experience before investing in the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing her experience, Industrial Training (IT) student Egbonodhe Stephanie described fish farming as rewarding but physically demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said one of the most challenging aspects of her training was draining and cleaning fish ponds, especially earthen ponds, which she described as muddy, dirty, and difficult to maintain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stephanie, her decision to pursue training in agriculture was initially met with ridicule from some members of her family, who believed farming was not a respectable profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“My family laughed at me when I chose agriculture because they believed farming was only meant for villagers. But my industrial training has changed my perspective. I now understand that agriculture is a business with great opportunities,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She identified the rising cost of fish feed as one of the biggest challenges confronting fish farmers, noting that a bag of fish feed costs between \u20a628,000 and \u20a630,000<\/strong>, depending on the size and type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie explained that while fish are mainly fed formulated fish feed, some farmers also use chicken intestines at certain stages to reduce feeding costs without affecting production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that fish farmers sell their products directly to individuals, households, and local markets, noting that operators who manage their farms efficiently can still make reasonable profits despite the increasing cost of production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Obi Martha Chika Fish farming has continued to emerge as one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing agricultural enterprises, with stakeholders calling for greater youth participation despite rising production costs and the physical demands of the business. A fish farmer, Davidson Osayande, and an Industrial Training (IT) student, Egbonodhe Stephanie, made the call during separate interviews, describing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,25,446,447],"class_list":["post-1632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-delsu","tag-fish-farming","tag-fishery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632","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=1632"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1634,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions\/1634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}