Fish farming is one of a kind, especially in times like this when the said protein, most purchased by the rich has become more expensive. When I say the ‘said protein,’ I mean ‘meat.’ Hence, these days, people hardly buy meat, rather they prefer to go for fish, thereby increasing the market for fish.
Before now, nobody ever considered fish to be of any importance, but with the advent of things in Nigeria and the cost of meat and other poultry products, fish is now ‘Gold’ in the market and everyone wants to go for fish thereby, increasing the profits gained by fish farmers, most especially Catfish Farming.
According to statistics, fishery products constitute 60% of ‘meat’ products in the Nigerian market because, of the popularity it has gained and its affordability compared to poultry products(chicken) and other domestic animals(cattle, goat, rabbit, etc.)
Furthermore, another reason why fish farming is most profitable in Nigeria is because, of its nutritional value, as it is said to be one of the highest source of protein, containing Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins D and B2(riboflavin,) Calcium, Phosphorus, Minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine magnesium and Potasium.
Fish farming is also of great benefit because, it does not take time for the fish to grow to maturity, as the fish can be fed with certain feeds, ensuring that they are harvested and sold within a short period of time.
In Nigeria, fish farming is very profitable, in the sense that, if a fish farmer or someone who intends to invest in fish farming, should invest the sum of three million naira, s/he could easily make a profit of four million naira within six months. This is due to the fact that, fish farming can be set up anywhere, including residential areas, without any regulatory precaution.
To start a fish farm in Nigeria, requires a little training on the part of the fish farmer:
1. S/he has to siphon the pond every morning, so as to remove the remnant of the fish feed, the waste products of the Catfish, this is done using a siphoning host, hence, the fish farmer requires a skill in SIPHONING.
2. The fish farmer must endeavour to change the water in the pond at least every three days or on a weekly bases, depending on the growth of the Catfish.
3. S/he must also endeavour to check the Catfish always, so as to separate the little ones from the big ones, as some may grow faster and bigger than the others, and Catfish being cannibalistic, the bigger ones will began to eat the smaller ones.
To start a fish farm in a small/medium scale depends greatly on the location, it could be in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, etc. but the cost of starting a fish farm is greatly dependent on the location. To start a fish farm in Nigeria requires the following:
Bore hole
Tank
Fish pond
Electricity for pumping water
Staff
Fish feed
Like I said before, the cost of starting a fish farm is relative, in the sense that, it depends on the location. For instance, if you were to start a fish farm in Lagos, you would first of all need to purchase a plot of land to construct the fish pond, and a plot of land in Ibeju-Lekki would cost you up to 750,000 naira.
Okay lets take a case study of the cost of Catfish Farming in Anambra State, Nigeria. Say, we want to set up a Catfish Farm of capacity, 10,000 with high breed of Fingerlings, we would take into consideration the aspect of pond construction as well as marketing.
The farm in question would have 10 concrete ponds of flow through system and each pond would contain 1,000 stocked Catfish
Cost of Construction of Each Pond
Each pond is 3m by 2.5m by 1.4m
Each pond consumes 210 blocks
Each bag of cement for 30 blocks
Therefore, 210 blocks ( 10 ponds = 2,100 blocks
2100/30 = 70 bags of cement needed
Therefore, 70 bags ( 2,000 naira = 140,000 naira
4trips of sand used = 8,000 naira ( 4 = 32,000 naira
2trips of gravel = 32,000 naira ( 2 = 64,000 naira
Cost of labour = 180,000 naira
Cost of plumbing (inlet and outlet) = 100,000 naira
Cost of borehole = 500,000 naira
Cost of treatment = 60,000 naira
Cost of high breed fingerlings = 30 naira ( 10,000 = 30,000 naira
Cost of feeding from day one to maturity stage is 200 bags of foreign feed = 1,000,000 naira
Average weight of fish = 1.7kg
Each sold at = 800 naira
= 800 naira ( 9800 fishes
= 6,860,000 naira
Total expenses = 2,236,000 naira
Gain = 4,624,000 naira in 6 months
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A LOCATION FOR YOUR FISH POND
Local government permit to construct a dairy effluent pond
buffer distance from sensitive areas
industry recommended distances
soil type
test holes
proximity to groundwater
maximize opportunities for effluent use
future development of the farm
conveyance of effluent
proximity to calf rearing
avoidance of tree plantations to prevent pond shading
accessibility to laneways and gateways to allow large machinery to access the ponds.
allowance for the installation of trafficable solids trap
space for future expansion
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SETTING UP A POND
Market
There should be a fish market near-by to allow for high capacity of sale of fish from pond harvests.
Nature of the soil
The soil should be of clay, which has high capacity to hold water. Examples of clay soil is Clay & Silt.
Topography
It should be an area where enough water can be impounded with the lowest amount of earth fill.
Water availability and quality
Water should be readily available like a borehole and be of good quality, such that, would enhance the healthy growth of the fish.
TYPES OF POND
Earthen pond
Excavated pond
Embankment pond
Concrete pond
Plastic pond
Excavated pond
This is built on a level terrain and its depth is achieved solely by excavation. This type is safe from flood damage, requires low maintenance, and can be constructed to expose a minimum water surface area in relation to volume.
2. Concrete pond
4-5 coaches of blocks are used to build the pond above the ground level, with the use of cement, sand and gravel in ratio 1:2:4 respectively with water. This type is quite cheap, at least it does not require you to buy a plot of land, you could actually build it at your backyard.
3. Plastic pond
This is another less expensive way of constructing a pond. It just requires you buy plastic tanks as production units. Although, it’s believed to be easier to manage, especially with the fact that, Nigerian farmers have limited land. The quantity of fish harvested from such small unit is more easily marketed than harvest from large fish pond.
Before now, nobody ever considered fish to be of any importance, but with the advent of things in Nigeria and the cost of meat and other poultry products, fish is now ‘Gold’ in the market and everyone wants to go for fish thereby, increasing the profits gained by fish farmers, most especially Catfish Farming.
According to statistics, fishery products constitute 60% of ‘meat’ products in the Nigerian market because, of the popularity it has gained and its affordability compared to poultry products(chicken) and other domestic animals(cattle, goat, rabbit, etc.)
Furthermore, another reason why fish farming is most profitable in Nigeria is because, of its nutritional value, as it is said to be one of the highest source of protein, containing Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins D and B2(riboflavin,) Calcium, Phosphorus, Minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine magnesium and Potasium.
Fish farming is also of great benefit because, it does not take time for the fish to grow to maturity, as the fish can be fed with certain feeds, ensuring that they are harvested and sold within a short period of time.
In Nigeria, fish farming is very profitable, in the sense that, if a fish farmer or someone who intends to invest in fish farming, should invest the sum of three million naira, s/he could easily make a profit of four million naira within six months. This is due to the fact that, fish farming can be set up anywhere, including residential areas, without any regulatory precaution.
To start a fish farm in Nigeria, requires a little training on the part of the fish farmer:
1. S/he has to siphon the pond every morning, so as to remove the remnant of the fish feed, the waste products of the Catfish, this is done using a siphoning host, hence, the fish farmer requires a skill in SIPHONING.
2. The fish farmer must endeavour to change the water in the pond at least every three days or on a weekly bases, depending on the growth of the Catfish.
3. S/he must also endeavour to check the Catfish always, so as to separate the little ones from the big ones, as some may grow faster and bigger than the others, and Catfish being cannibalistic, the bigger ones will began to eat the smaller ones.
To start a fish farm in a small/medium scale depends greatly on the location, it could be in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, etc. but the cost of starting a fish farm is greatly dependent on the location. To start a fish farm in Nigeria requires the following:
Bore hole
Tank
Fish pond
Electricity for pumping water
Staff
Fish feed
Like I said before, the cost of starting a fish farm is relative, in the sense that, it depends on the location. For instance, if you were to start a fish farm in Lagos, you would first of all need to purchase a plot of land to construct the fish pond, and a plot of land in Ibeju-Lekki would cost you up to 750,000 naira.
Okay lets take a case study of the cost of Catfish Farming in Anambra State, Nigeria. Say, we want to set up a Catfish Farm of capacity, 10,000 with high breed of Fingerlings, we would take into consideration the aspect of pond construction as well as marketing.
The farm in question would have 10 concrete ponds of flow through system and each pond would contain 1,000 stocked Catfish
Cost of Construction of Each Pond
Each pond is 3m by 2.5m by 1.4m
Each pond consumes 210 blocks
Each bag of cement for 30 blocks
Therefore, 210 blocks ( 10 ponds = 2,100 blocks
2100/30 = 70 bags of cement needed
Therefore, 70 bags ( 2,000 naira = 140,000 naira
4trips of sand used = 8,000 naira ( 4 = 32,000 naira
2trips of gravel = 32,000 naira ( 2 = 64,000 naira
Cost of labour = 180,000 naira
Cost of plumbing (inlet and outlet) = 100,000 naira
Cost of borehole = 500,000 naira
Cost of treatment = 60,000 naira
Cost of high breed fingerlings = 30 naira ( 10,000 = 30,000 naira
Cost of feeding from day one to maturity stage is 200 bags of foreign feed = 1,000,000 naira
Average weight of fish = 1.7kg
Each sold at = 800 naira
= 800 naira ( 9800 fishes
= 6,860,000 naira
Total expenses = 2,236,000 naira
Gain = 4,624,000 naira in 6 months
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A LOCATION FOR YOUR FISH POND
Local government permit to construct a dairy effluent pond
buffer distance from sensitive areas
industry recommended distances
soil type
test holes
proximity to groundwater
maximize opportunities for effluent use
future development of the farm
conveyance of effluent
proximity to calf rearing
avoidance of tree plantations to prevent pond shading
accessibility to laneways and gateways to allow large machinery to access the ponds.
allowance for the installation of trafficable solids trap
space for future expansion
FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SETTING UP A POND
Market
There should be a fish market near-by to allow for high capacity of sale of fish from pond harvests.
Nature of the soil
The soil should be of clay, which has high capacity to hold water. Examples of clay soil is Clay & Silt.
Topography
It should be an area where enough water can be impounded with the lowest amount of earth fill.
Water availability and quality
Water should be readily available like a borehole and be of good quality, such that, would enhance the healthy growth of the fish.
TYPES OF POND
Earthen pond
Excavated pond
Embankment pond
Concrete pond
Plastic pond
Excavated pond
This is built on a level terrain and its depth is achieved solely by excavation. This type is safe from flood damage, requires low maintenance, and can be constructed to expose a minimum water surface area in relation to volume.
2. Concrete pond
4-5 coaches of blocks are used to build the pond above the ground level, with the use of cement, sand and gravel in ratio 1:2:4 respectively with water. This type is quite cheap, at least it does not require you to buy a plot of land, you could actually build it at your backyard.
3. Plastic pond
This is another less expensive way of constructing a pond. It just requires you buy plastic tanks as production units. Although, it’s believed to be easier to manage, especially with the fact that, Nigerian farmers have limited land. The quantity of fish harvested from such small unit is more easily marketed than harvest from large fish pond.