Dear Will,

Thanks so much for always highlighting the tremendous progress Nigeria is making in Catfish farming. From the response and interactions during the COMHAFAT workshop in Libreville in June it's quite obvious that other African countries can also benefit immensely from Nigeria experience as the flow-through system is not too complex unlike the Water Recycling System(WRS).Apart from Kenya,Uganda is also making good progress in Catfish farming. I can assure you that Nigeria will even do more as the new Government is now more determined and commited to invest on facilitating the development of the Aquaculture Value Chain along purely business line to be driven by the private sector.

Thanks.

Tunde Atanda
National Facilitator,Aquaculture
National Programme for Food Security
127,Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent,Wuse II
Abuja.
NIGERIA.
Tel(mobile):+2348035871102

From: William Leschen <william.leschen@stir.ac.uk>
To: sarnissa-african-aquaculture Mailing List <sarnissa-african-aquaculture@lists.stir.ac.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, 13 September 2011, 12:51
Subject: [Sarnissa] Catfish farming in Nigeria - why has it succeeded ? Can it be replicated elsewhere in Africa?

Catfish farming in Nigeria - why has it succeeded ? Can it be replicated elsewhere in Africa?

To hopefully add to the forum debate would recommend paper by SARNISSA members Jim Miller and Atanda Tunde:

Publications

The Rise of Peri-Urban aquaculture in Nigeria

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/earthscan/ijas/2011/00000009/00000001/art00030

Also please find attached very nice (although a bit old) Markets Value Chain Presentation/Report for Clarias in Nigeria - note section in the end on potential for tilapia? In Nigeria .

Videos

Many Videos on Clarias in Nigeria on sarnissa website videos page please check them out

http://www.sarnissa.org/tiki-index.php?page=Video%20links

- see one example below of many showing entrepreneurial background behind some of the producers – noting also how it often women who make the best hatchery operators

http://www.5min.com/Video/Catfish-Farming-in-Nigeria-444634718

Peri-urban Clarias production in Kenya?

Finally although “the jury is still out” in our discussion as to whether catfish production industry in Nigeria can be replicated elsewhere in SS Africa – the technology, design and management used to develop peri-urban type Clarias farms in Nigeria – this is now being used in Kenya where just outside Nairobi a new Clarias fingerling production site has just opened based on the Nigerian model. We await to see how it develops………

From: sarnissa-african-aquaculture-bounces@lists.stir.ac.uk [mailto:sarnissa-african-aquaculture-bounces@lists.stir.ac.uk] On Behalf Of banjo omotoyosi
Sent: 12 September 2011 19:51
To: Ololade; sarnissa-african-aquaculture Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Sarnissa] Fw: Freeze the Footprint of Food - Nature piece

Hi Patrick,

I really don't know the history of catfish farming in other African countries with reference to why it has not been successful in terms of its establishment. But, there are few things I know about Nigeria Catfish farming and its success.

Public Awareness

Nigerians are sensitive to businesses that generate profit at a very short time. Catfish reaching a marketable size withing six months gave this opportunity, not to talk of the short duration of 4-6 weeks of producing the seeds of this specie and the flexibilities involved in its production in terms of facilities. Imagine some producers producing catfish fingerlings in the toilet. So, "EVERYBODY" got engaged in catfish production to make "JUST PROFIT"

Influx of Experts and Non-expert into the Business of Catfish Production

Catfish being hardy surrendered itself to manipulation by the non-experts in its production. You just need to go for a three weeks training and you do it just like you are keeping a pet. Those who didn't have the opportunity to produce turned out to be sales agents distributing the product to "every" part of Nigeria.

Population

Although, not statistically supported, only fraction of Nigeria eat the Catfish produced by the producers - fish pepper soup joint constituting largest percentage - yet there is still a wide supply gap. The quantity of catfish produced within Nigeria cannot at the moment support the stoppage of importation as population far exceeds that the local catfish producers supply. So, anyone entering the line of business at any point will make profit.

Tilapia or other species not being able to replace Catfish

Tilapia is very tasty, but no Nigerians want to die of fish bone. Tilapia has bone in the flesh which requires special attention for consumption. When processed, its no more fresh and personally, I will buy imported fish sold at the market than buy expensive processed locally produced Tilapia. Same goes for processed Catfish. This condition and customers perception about fresh and non-fresh or processed fish prevent the market benefit of product diversification.

Footnote:

There are potential challenges ahead.

From: Ololade <crystololade@yahoo.com>
To: "patrickjwood@yahoo.com" <patrickjwood@yahoo.com>; "sarnissa-african-aquaculture@lists.stir.ac.uk" <sarnissa-african-aquaculture@lists.stir.ac.uk>
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 3:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Sarnissa] Fw: Freeze the Footprint of Food - Nature piece

Hi Guy,

I was about to ask the same question that Patrick asked about the obvious reasons why catfish farming took off in Nigeria and why a similar business model wouldnt work elsewhere in Africa.............? Can you be more specific?

Regards.

Ololade

From: Patrick Wood <patrickjwood@yahoo.com>
To: Guy Delincé <g.delince@skynet.be>
Cc: sarnissa-african-aquaculture@lists.stir.ac.uk
Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 8:56 AM
Subject: Re: [Sarnissa] Fw: Freeze the Footprint of Food - Nature piece

Hi Guy,

There is not enough space and time on a discussion group board to expand on the different business models and different marketing strategies available......nor am I an expert (I am sure there are others who have written books about this stuff?)......not sure what you mean by suitable though - do you mean economically sustainable? If so guess it depends on the business model adopted.

Importantly whatever production model one undertakes (as this after all really a site about African aquaculture producion) success or failure - gauged by economic sustainability and growth - is very dependent on the "marketability" of the final offering.

On your second paragraph - surely smoking and/or drying is just another route to market and another offering.....especially so where there is no ice or refrigeration logistics to take something fresh to a marketplace. Alternative would be no sale at all. So, in that "business model", profit margin may not be as large (but that is mute anyway if no option) but at least it is not a write-off......

I think one will find that if domestic decision makers, with all the best intentions in the world to help develop countries, tried to instigated market protection there would be stiff resistance by the communities that tend to run the commercial import/export trade in many countries in Africa - be they nationalised Indian, Lebanese, Chinese or Europeans. Interests and political will do not always agree.

Can you explain what is so obvious about the reason that catfish fish farming took off in Nigeria.....and why a similar development (or business?) model wouldn’t work elsewhere in Africa?

Salut,

Patrick

On 12/09/2011 09:03, Guy Delincé wrote:

Hi Patrick,

For the sake of the discussion, it would be nice if you could expand on the business models and their market strategies that you envisage or find suitable.

As for smoking or drying farmed fish, this does not consider that the fish traditionally smoked or dried in capture fisheries, is been processed because it cannot be sold fresh; it is processed just before it is about to rot (in the best cases) (even to hide the taste). This fish fetches a lower price than the fresh one. Adding production costs through processing will thus reduce your margins.

Convincing domestic decision-maker to protect their markets will be very difficult, unless they have a particular stake in that sector.

Of course, there is a major distinction between agriculture-led countries and countries where industrialisation is developing. The reason that catfish fish farming took off in Nigeria is obvious, a similar development model wouldn’t work in a country like Guinea, Burundi or CAR (if the country still exists ...)

Cheers,

Guy Delincé.

Le 09/09/2011 20:50, Patrick Wood a écrit :

Hi Guy,

I think that you have mistakenly used a logistics export model for high value game fish (weekly prices, air freight, auctions) that is not applicable to a low cost commodity traded product like tilapia.

The reason Chinese tilapia are cheap is simply because they are exporting to Africa 20%+ water pick up in the fillet using polyphosphates, not to mention playing with the glaze so even the net weights are often lower than stated. Also Chinese producers get export subsidies. So, in a lot of ways it is not about aquaculture at all.

Producers in Africa can go the Chinese way in the local marketplace or differentiate their products (fresh and without chemicals), smoked, dried, etc.

We started South American tilapia exports with frozen to the US but this soon developed to a fresh fillet system as Chinese frozen tilapia made it impossible to compete.

Of course a methodology much used in other countries to promote local industry (Brazil used it for many years) is to ban imports or tax them in such a way as to allow local competition or encumbent industries to survive. Even the US does it now with the Southern shrimp alliance....taxes are then directed towards helping internal industry - but this takes a lot of political will and probably a lot of mud slinging about denying Africans food security etc......

...........according to Jason Clay this will indirectly happen anyway as producers from SE Asia will re-route products to feed the burgeoning developed countries population and ever increasing demand for seafood.

I guess that the old adage for seafood also stands even in Africa - everyone talks about quality but buys on price.

Patrick

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