Stakeholders’ Partnership Required To Boost Ekiti’s Aquaculture Sector, Says Innovate KTN UK

 The Global Alliance Africa has stated that the continuous engagement and partnership with relevant stakeholders in the aquaculture industry is fundamental to harnessing the immense socio-economic potential of the sector in Ekiti State.

It noted that while the state is regarded as one of Nigeria’s agricultural hubs that is well-known for its vast plantations of cocoa, cassava, maize, and palm oil, there is still a hugely untapped potential in its aquaculture sector.

It further stated that while Nigerians consume about 2.97 million metric tons of fish per year, and produce only about 1.07 million metric tons annually, there is a huge deficit of about 1.9 million metric tons, which sees some US$ 1.2 billion 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 State, 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 January 31, 2023.

The event which 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 & Development Office, created a platform to explore gaps, existing solutions, and potential areas for innovation to heighten productivity and sustainability in the Ekiti State aquaculture sector.

In his remarks, the Global Alliance Africa’s Knowledge Transfer Manager for Nigeria, Joshua Adedeji noted that it is only through engaging with players from across the aquaculture supply and value chains, that Ekiti State 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.

Professor Ayodele Ajayi, a member of the Advisory and Design Board, while reflecting on the role that Innovate UK KTN is playing in the region, said: “Innovate UK KTN has enabled us to connect with and learn from a variety of stakeholders in aquaculture sectors, in both Nigeria and the UK, and this has been fundamental to growing our understanding of the region and curating the activities through how we can best support it.”

During the knowledge-exchange sessions, industry players like WorldFish, Skretting, Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, MagProtein, BioLoop, and Mana Bio Systems, made presentations on the role of innovation and technology in improving the supply, application and sustainability of aquaculture feeds. Other presentations centred on the use of alternative proteins and the production of locally-made feed products for farmers.

The presentations focused on the current 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.

Worse still, the presenters noted that if local farmers are unable to find more affordable and effective feed alternatives, this will result in poorer yields, job losses and ultimately farm closures.

To address these issues, the presenters stated that the sector must 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, the presenters 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 organizations to develop newer equipment and machinery.

About Global Alliance Africa
The Global Alliance Africa project is a six-year project funded by UK Aid through Innovate UK (GCRF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).