Fish Fair, Exhibitions Hold December

Sid Piscs Nigeria, publishers of African Aquaculture and Fisheries Digest, AAFD, will next month host thousands of farmers in its first fish fair and exhibition in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

Expected at the fair are fish farmers, fish processors, smoking kiln fabricators, fish feed and machinery marketers, fish farming inputs sellers, ornament fish farmers, aquarium and accessory sellers, fish gear and craft sellers and fisheries inventors.

The fair which will run from 14 – 16 December, 2011 will also be used to mark the 5th anniversary of the African Aquaculture and Fisheries Digest.

The fair will be rounded off on 17 December, 2011 with a public lecture on developing community fish farming as a strategy for alleviating rural poverty.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina and his Ministry of Infromation counterpart, Mr. Labaran Maku and farming professionals from Ghana, Porto Novo and other neighbouring countries are expected at the occasion.

Some distinguished farming professionals will also be given award at the event.

Speaking to Consumers Advocate, publisher and editor of AAFD, Mr. Sydney Kanu, said the fair was primarily conceived to help further develop the fishery industry by creating a market window for farmers and people involved in other aspects of fish farming.

He said members of the public who are interest in starting their own fish farms can come to the fair.

On what is to be expected at the fair, Kanu said a new prospect in other type of fishes that farmers can exploit will be showcased at the fair.

He said: “At the lecture which will hold a day after the fish fair, we will enlighten people on the other prospects in fish farming. We want people to realise that fish farming goes beyond cat fish. There are quite a variety of fishes like stitches, cap and tilapia that are economically viable which people can produce. Farmers may have to go back to tilapia because we believe that it may hold the ace in fish farming. We are also encouraging them to farm shrimps.

“Tilapia is more delicious than cat fish. Aside the fact that cat fish is easy to handle, it does not hold better prospect than Tilapia and other economically viable fishes and we want to enlighten people on this.”