Farmers Rake in N9.17bn Through OGSTEP Aquaculture Support

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Government has disclosed that its aquaculture support programme under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP) has generated an estimated N9.17 billion in revenue for fish farmers across the State.

The revenue yield was sequel to the government’s sustained investments in feed subsidies, infrastructure development, and capacity building.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, made this known in Eriwe, Ijebu, while addressing stakeholders during an ongoing inspection of OGSTEP-funded agricultural projects across fish clusters and farm settlements in Ogun State.

According to the Commissioner, a total of 4,256 aquaculture farmers have benefitted from the intervention programme, which was designed to boost fish production, reduce production costs and improve farmers’ incomes.

He revealed that the state government supplied 195,436 bags of fish feed to farmers at a 30 per cent subsidy, representing a direct government investment of N2,745,875,800 to cushion the impact of rising input costs.

Owotomo explained that the intervention has resulted in an estimated aquaculture output of 4,256 metric tons of fish, contributing significantly to food security and reducing dependence on imported fish.

He added that the state government has also extended support to the poultry subsector, with 1,272 broiler farmers benefitting from the programme and 77,703 bags of professional and commercial broiler feed distributed across the state, while some other broiler farmers were supported with the production of 500 birds each and linked to off-takers to prevent post-harvest losses.

During the inspection, the Commissioner visited the Ijebu Development Initiative for Poverty Reduction at the Eriwe Fish Farm Cluster, which comprises about 600 fish farmers and has been equipped with a modern fish processing facility.

The facility includes a five-ton solar-powered blast freezer, a 10-ton cold room, a 500/900-capacity chest freezer, four 50kg smoking kilns, three 100kg smoking kilns, a 500kg-capacity digital weighing scale, stainless steel work tables, 400-litre holding tanks, as well as rehabilitated fish processing buildings and market shops.

Owotomo also inspected ongoing fish processing facilities at the Ikangba Fish Farm Cluster, which has about 1,224 fish farmers, and the Ikenne Fish Farm Cluster, noting that similar processing infrastructure is being deployed in Ibiade, Ado-Odo and Ilashe fish clusters.

He stressed that the OGSTEP intervention was statewide and inclusive, aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, promoting value addition, and stabilising prices across the aquaculture value chain.

“This is a clear demonstration that when government support is well-targeted, agriculture becomes profitable for farmers and beneficial to the economy,” the commissioner said, adding that the programme has strengthened production capacity across clusters.

In separate remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Angel Adelaja; the Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, Hon. Jamiu Asimi; the Chairman of the Catfish Farmers Association in Ijebu, Mr. Lazarus Okole; and the CEO of the Ijebu Development Initiative for Poverty Reduction, Mr. Marcus Adeniyi, commended the initiative noting that the new facilities would reduce gluts, curb distress sales, improve incomes, expand production and strengthen local economic development, while reaffirming Governor Dapo Abiodun’s commitment to sustainable agricultural growth in Ogun State.