The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has said Nigeria faces an annual fish production deficit of 2.2 million metric tonnes, urging investors and financial institutions to tap into the country’s catfish industry to bridge the gap.

Oyetola said Nigeria’s annual fish requirement stood at approximately 3.6 million metric tonnes, while domestic production from all sources was about 1.4 million metric tonnes, leaving a significant supply gap that local aquaculture operators and prospective investors could exploit.

The minister made this known on Wednesday in Abuja at the High-Level Roundtable on Scaling Sustainable Catfish Value Chain Transformation, organised under the Fisheries and Aquaculture for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (FISH4ACP) programme.

He described the production shortfall as a major investment opportunity capable of driving economic growth, strengthening food security and creating jobs across the country.

According to him, expanding domestic fish production would reduce dependence on imports, stimulate enterprise development and create sustainable livelihoods.

“Expanding domestic fish production is an economic and food security imperative. It offers an opportunity to strengthen domestic food supply, reduce dependence on fish imports, stimulate enterprise development and create sustainable livelihoods across the country,” he said.

Oyetola noted that Nigeria was Africa’s second-largest aquaculture producer and a leading producer of farmed African catfish, stressing that the sector’s investment potential extended beyond fish farming to hatcheries, feed mills, equipment manufacturing, transportation, processing, cold-chain services and trading.

He said investment in aquaculture would generate economic benefits across several interconnected sectors, adding that closing the production gap required coordinated investments along the entire value chain.

The minister identified access to quality fingerlings, affordable feed, appropriate financing, effective fish health management, reliable markets and modern infrastructure as critical requirements for sustainable industry expansion.

He also urged financial institutions to develop credit arrangements that reflect the realities of fish farming, particularly the production cycles and cash-flow patterns of operators.

“The timing of disbursement, repayment schedules and cost of credit must reflect the production cycle and cash-flow patterns of fish farming enterprises,” he said, warning that viable businesses should not be constrained by unsuitable financing arrangements.

Oyetola identified high feed and energy costs, inconsistent supplies of quality fingerlings, inadequate fish health management, weak biosecurity and insufficient processing and cold-storage facilities as major challenges confronting the industry.

However, he described the challenges as investment opportunities, particularly in feed manufacturing, modern hatcheries, processing facilities, cold-chain infrastructure and improved logistics.

He assured investors of the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment through stronger coordination with state governments, regulatory institutions and private sector operators.

He also pledged deeper engagement with development finance institutions to promote affordable financing, improve sector data, strengthen research and quality assurance, and provide technical support.

The minister further advocated the establishment of aquaculture clusters and cooperative arrangements to reduce operating costs, facilitate shared infrastructure and improve access to essential services.

He called for deliberate inclusion of women and young people, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises, in the industry’s expansion, stressing that economic growth must go hand in hand with environmental sustainability.

Oyetola commended the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the European Union and the German Government for supporting Nigeria’s catfish value chain through the FISH4ACP programme.

He said the programme had identified critical industry constraints and demonstrated practical interventions in alternative feed ingredients, including black soldier fly larvae, hatchery management, broodstock improvement, business development and digital farm management.

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), implemented by FAO with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The programme supports the development of more productive, inclusive and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture value chains across 12 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In Nigeria, its interventions target the catfish value chain through improved farming practices, access to finance, better farm management, technology adoption and stronger collaboration among industry stakeholders.