UK network seeks stakeholders’ cooperation to boost Ekiti aquaculture sector
Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and Global Alliance Africa have called for continuous engagement and partnership with relevant stakeholders in the aquaculture industry to boost aquaculture in Ekiti.
The global alliance in a statement at the end of the first Global Aquaculture Knowledge Exchange and Showcase in Ekiti, said that such synergies would help in harnessing the immense socio-economic potential of the sector in Ekiti.
The alliance said while Ekiti is regarded as one of Nigeria’s agricultural hubs, well-known for its vast plantations of cocoa, cassava, maize, and palm oil, there is still a huge untapped potential in its aquaculture sector.
It further said that Nigerians consume about 2.97 million metric tonnes of fish per year, and produce only about 1.07 million metric tonnes annually.
The alliance said there is a huge deficit of about 1.9 million metric tonnes, which sees some 1.2 billion dollars flow out of the economy and into foreign markets annually.
“At the state level, Innovate KTN UK disclosed that there is still a huge deficit of supply of fish, as local fish production sustains less than one percent (or 200 metric tonnes) of the region’s total demand of 26,825 metric tonnes.
“To unlock the immense socio-economic benefits of the aquaculture sector in Ekiti, the innovate UK KTN Global Alliance Africa, in collaboration with its Place-Based Innovation Advisory and Design Group for Ekiti State, hosted the first Global Aquaculture Knowledge Exchange and Showcase event on Jan. 31.
“The event brought together representatives from the government, academia, fish feed producers, fish farmers and associations, and other key development partners such as World Fish, World Aquaculture Society, IDH, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
“The event created a platform to explore gaps, existing solutions, and potential areas for innovation to heighten productivity and sustainability in the Ekiti State aquaculture sector.”
The Global Alliance Africa’s Knowledge Transfer Manager for Nigeria, Mr Joshua Adedeji said the project is a six-year project funded by UK Aid through Innovate UK (GCRF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Adedeji said that it was only through engaging with players across the aquaculture supply and value chains, that Ekiti will be able to unlock the socio-economic potential of the aquaculture sector.
Also, the Africa Lead for Global Alliance Africa, Sophie West, reinforced the project’s commitment to making Ekiti State a beacon of innovation by creating new opportunities to transfer knowledge, technology and expertise between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.
In his keynote address, Prof. Ayodele Ajayi, a member of the Advisory and Design Board, said that Innovate UK KTN has enabled stakeholders to connect with and learn from a variety of stakeholders in the aquaculture sector.
Ajayi said that this was both in Nigeria and the UK, and this has been fundamental to growing the understanding of the region and curating the activities and support.
Other presentations centred on the use of alternative proteins and the production of locally-made feed products for farmers.
They focused on the high costs and poor standard of fish feed, combined with limited funding and knowledge-gaps for aquaculturists, which is directly impacting the performance of the sector.
To address these issues, they suggested that the sector adopt innovative and technology-driven solutions to stimulate farm viability, increase competition, and promote growth in the sector.
On the challenge of use of alternative proteins and the production of locally-made feed products for farmers, they stressed that local producers should look to alternative sources of plant and insect-based proteins, such as black soldier fly larvae, yellow mealworm, and marine ingredients, which could be leveraged as good quality fish feed ingredients.
They also noted that in doing so, aquaculture stakeholders need to conduct research into the viability of local ingredients, develop pilot projects to test new production capabilities and onboard research and engineering organisations to develop newer equipment and machinery.
