Lagos State Agro-Processing , Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project is targeting bumper harvest in water bodies this Christmas season.
The Project Coordinator, Mrs Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that TIlapia fish and Broiler chicken would be available to Lagos residents during the festive season.
She said that most of water bodies in Afowo, Badagry, Ise and Ebute Afuye had been stocked by farmers through the support of APPEALS project.
“We are looking at a bumper harvest in our water bodies this Christmas.
“We have stocked almost all our cages. In fact, some of our farmers have done three cycles already this year.
“For Christmas, I want to believe that a lot of Nigerians and Lagosians will not go for turkeys, they will go for our Tilapia fish,” she said.
“We were able to achieve 2kg in seven months. These are Tilapia that are very fleshy, nice and tasty,” she said.
The coordinator expressed the hope that many Lagos residents would go for Tilapia for Christmas celebration.
“That is what we are really looking forward to.
“We have Afowo in Badagry, where we have quite a number of cages and we have Ise and Ebute Afuye.
“All of these water bodies have been stocked by our farmers by the support of APPEALS project,” she said.
She said that APPEALS project had also supported poultry farmer in broiler production, and assured Lagos residents of adequate supply during Christmas.
She called on more farmers to come into the sector to force down prices of such commodities.
“We have also done a lot in broiler production, we have supported our farmers with day-old chicks, pelletised feed and nipple-fitted drinkers.
“In six weeks, we have been able to achieve 2.5kg broilers. I know that at Christmas, we will have a lot of broilers to eat.
“Once we patronise our local farmers, we are not going to be importing things; then, naturally, any investors will want to go into that aspect,” she said.
Sagoe-Oviebo-Oviebo told NAN that some investors had shown interest in Tilapia farming and were investing their resources without seeking government’s financial support.
She said that APPEALS project would support the investors with technical expertise on Tilapia farming.
“They just want the enabling environment where we can link them with different key players in the industry.
“They also want us to guarantee them safety on our waterways.
“I know in the next couple of years, our water bodies will be fully utilised for aquaculture.
“Then, we can boast that Lagos is actually the centre of aquatic splendor and not just the centre of excellence because of our waterways,” she added.
