Adebambo Gbolahan, a 47-year-old resident of the Odogbolu area of Ogun state, had four fish ponds where he employed 10 young people as his apprentices. His business flourished until 2022 when an unforeseen flood took over his fish farm.
The flood swept off over 20 thousand pieces of fish from his fish pond to an unknown destination. Due to the loss, he had to quit his fishing business after he became helpless.
Mr. Adebambo lost N400,000 of his share from his father’s property to flooding. He borrowed a N150,000 loan from his sibling with the hope of paying it back. Unfortunately, the losses from the flooding incident didn’t allow him to pay back his debt. These challenges made him quit the fish farming business since there was no financial wherewithal to continue the business.
Before the flooding incident, he was a popular fish farmer known for supplying over 2000 pieces of catfish daily within the Odogbolu and Sagamu areas of Ogun state. According to him, ever since the incident happened, he couldn’t go any further than to quit the fish farming
“I used to be a fish farmer, but since the flooding mishap occurred, I have stopped. The incident is hard to get over because I’m still in debt. I still need to pay those I owe, and if I have to start all over, where do I get capital from? I’m not the only affected person. The shock has affected some people because we never thought it could happen. I have stopped the business because I’m still paying debts at the moment. “
DATAPHYTE investigations into the Ogun state fish farming business reveal the plight and challenges facing the fishing industry in the state, including losses of fish from the ponds owing to flooding incidents.
Troubles and difficulties
The main factors affecting people in the fish-farming business in Ogun State include extreme climatic conditions, floods, water pollution, lack of adequate technology, and lack of loans and grants. These pose major challenges for the thriving of the business.
For instance, Mrs Bolanle Adefioye, a mother of four, lost her two fish ponds to flood in Erinwe farm. Since the flooding incident occurred, she resorted to running a fish pond with Isiaka Ibrahim, an ally. They both run the fish pond just to earn a living.
According to her, ‘’Ever since the flood took away our fishes from the pond, it was indeed a great loss for us, but there is nothing we could do. I used to have fish ponds in my name, but since it has happened, I just have to survive. I’m here helping my friend here. The little change I got here, I used it to cater for my children.’’
More pain, no gain
The lack of modern fishing equipment has made the fish farming business tedious for the farmers. Aside from the high cost of procuring fish feed, they pay more to labourers to make work easier on the farm.
For instance, Mrs Sanyaolu Bukola, a 36-year-old fish farmer in the Ijagba area of Sagamu, took over the fish farming business from her late mother. She narrated her plight and how most of the profit she makes from the fish farming business is being paid to labourers to help carry out tasks on the fish farm. According to her, after buying expensive feed from the market, they pay for dredging to prevent the area from being flooded.
‘’My mum died in 2020. After her demise, I have been the one coordinating the activities on the farm. While my mom was alive, we had five fish ponds, but due to cost and loss, we had to reduce it to two just to keep the business going.
“There is no finance, flooding is affecting us, and the cost of fish feed is expensive. We apply for loans to support our business and to pay workers’ salaries,” she added.
Also, Olalekan Shokoya, a fish farmer in Sagamu, once had seven fish ponds where he employed eight people, including university graduates. He moved out of the Isote area of Sagamu to Ajaka after losing his fish pond to flooding. After the tragedy, he didn’t only focus on the fish business; he started rearing goats and turkeys to support his business since there was no financial support.
“I recently moved from Isote to Ajaka, an area of Sagamu. There, I faced a lot (of challenges). I had many people working for me, but since the flooding continued to occur, I had to change my location. I didn’t only change location, I reduced the number of people working for me to two. I now have limited distribution because the business is unpredictable.
Ecological funds with little impact.
The Nigerian government established the Ecological Fund to address the multifarious ecological problems across the country.
In 2021 and 2022, the Federal government of Nigeria allocated the sum of N817.85 million and N1.23 billion to Ogun State as payment for ecological funds, respectively.
Despite its implementation in different states across the country, the purpose of the ecological fund is yet to be realized despite the ecological challenges in the state. On July 8, 2022, flooding reportedly swept away fish ponds worth N500 million of about 200 farmers in Ogun state. It destroyed fishing practices and hurt fish farmers’ social lives.
An unaddressed issue, a major threat to Nigeria’s economy
According to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), for the year 2022, the fishing industry contributed N2.294 trillion to the agricultural sector.
In 2021, the industry pulled a total of N2.230 trillion between Q1 and Q4. In 2020, it added N1.657 trillion to the agricultural sector.
Between 2016 and 2019, the industry continued to affect the economy until 2022, when there was a flooding challenge that led to a drop in the industry’s performance in 2022.
However, Nigeria, as a country, needs to produce 3.4 million metric tonnes of fish yearly to meet local demand, but at the moment, it has produced 1.2 million metric tonnes of fish. That is about a 1.4 metric tonnes target yet to be met.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria produced about 1,080,855 in 2021, which is about 37% of Nigeria’s total annual fish demand of about 3.4 million metric tonnes. Fish importation meets the remaining 63% of the need.
Unfulfilled promises
The coordinators of fish farmers in Ogun state, representing their various groups, said the loss recorded in the fish farming business is more than the profit. They claimed to have paid taxes to the state government with no benefit.
The head of fish farmers at Efinwe farm and Ikanga Agoro fish farm in Ogun State, Mr Ibukun Olarenwaju and Mr Lazarus, said the face of their business has changed, as many farmers have already left the farm. Those who are currently running the business are on the verge of giving up on the loss and challenges facing the business.
They explained that the fishing community in the State had been witnessing flooding, and all plans to get help from the government proved abortive. Members had borrowed loans from different companies, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they couldn’t refund the money they borrowed.
“We have many groups in our farms. Fish farmers alone are more than 200. But at the moment, about half of us have quit the fishing business because there is no money to continue, and the loss is unbearable. Some of us who had five fish ponds no longer have such numbers because of lack of capital.”
“In the end, we run into debt. Since we do pay tax, we called on the government severally, but they haven’t offered solutions to the problems we’re facing. We had to go to Oke-Imosan in 2022 to protest, still nothing had been done. In 2021, the flood wasn’t heavy, but the last one that happened cost us a lot of money.”
Government pledges
In 2022, the then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, pledged the Federal Government’s assistance to the fishery value chain to boost fish production in Nigeria.
He said,’’ Of course, fish is very important in the agricultural value chain, and I am surprised that, to date, your association has not been benefiting anything. It shouldn’t be so.
Unlike Nigeria, most governments support their fisheries sectors in an attempt to achieve objectives such as maintaining coastal employment, improving fishers’ welfare, ensuring the sustainability of the sector, encouraging food production, and establishing sovereignty over disputed waters.
Ogun State Government’s reaction
When the reporter reached out to the spokespersons of the Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture,Morolayo Fadairo and Gbenga Morounfolu, to confirm the allegations, the duo did not speak on the matter after several calls and messages.
Expert’s advice
The Executive Director of Waterwide Foundation, Wilson Atumeyi, explained what the government needs to put in place to address the challenges facing the fishing industry and to make the best out of it.
He said, “Neglecting ecological problems can exacerbate challenges leading to increased poverty and reduced quality of life for those affected. To avert some of these challenges, ecological funds must be allocated and managed with transparency and effectiveness. Investment in infrastructure development is a pivotal step in mitigating the impact of flooding.
“To ensure the fishing industry’s resilience in the face of flooding, the Nigerian government should adopt a holistic approach involving investing in infrastructure improvements to mitigate the impact of flooding, such as robust drainage systems and flood control measures and supporting the fishing sector’s growth and sustainability.
“Access to financing, training, and capacity-building programs can include guidance on managing and adapting to flood-related challenges, strengthening the community’s ability to withstand such environmental pressures.”
This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development.