The Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN) has commended the state government over its efforts to enhance the growth of the sector.
The LASCAFAN President, Mr Sejiro Oke-Tojinu, gave the commendation in Lagos on Thursday [today].
He said that Lagos State, through its Agro Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project, had pushed the frontiers of the sector for growth.
“The Lagos State Government (LASG) has been so supportive to local fish farmers in the state; we are beneficiaries and we have enjoyed the APPEALS project.
“It is the World Bank sponsored project on conjunction with the Lagos state government and the Federal Government.
“The programme was beneficial across all agriculture value chains and not just aquaculture; it enhanced fish processing activities, cage culture for Tilapia development.
“The project also facilitated the provision of our Blast Freezers to enhance the cold chain value chain for aquaculture.
“The blast freezers were fully provided by the LASG in conjunction with the World Bank.’’
Oke-Tojinu also commended the state for the various training programmes of the government for women and youths in the sector as well as the recent palliatives distribution to fish farmers.
“We have also enjoyed several training and empowerment programmes from the state, especially for our women and youths in the sector.
“Recently, we also benefited from the palliatives from the Federal Government through the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture.
“We were given maize as palliatives to help cushion the effects of rising cost of fish feed in the sector.
“We are also currently benefiting from the food hub recently set up by the state government in Mushin to help sell our produce at good prices.
“The government has subsidised the prices of food items across all agro-produce value chains, which beneficial to both farmers and consumers,” Oke-Tojinu said. (NAN)
