Fish farmers in Lagos State will start to produce locally canned catfish and Tilapia fish in 2022.
The project will be promoted by the productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support, a
World Bank-assisted Agro-Processing organization.
The Project Coordinator, Mrs. Oluranti Sagoe-Oviebo, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on today, December 28 in Lagos, said that the canned fish would be produced using locally-fabricated equipment.
She said that the focus is on the use of locally-fabricated equipment to create jobs for Nigerians.
“We trained some fabricators who looked at the foreign-made machines, studied and fabricate them locally.
“The fabricators have looked at the different equipment and they have been able to fabricate quite a number of them making them affordable by our farmers.
“We are trusting God that by early next year, a number of our investors, will be able to adopt them on their own.”
Sagoe-Oviebo said that about 80 farmers have been trained in basic techniques of preparation, packaging and marketing of canned fish.
She said that the training is conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research covering temperature for boiling fish, tomato sauce preparation, temperature for canning the fish and pasteurisation.
She added that the canned fish would be affordable to Nigerians, and could boost exports.
“We have identified some investors already amongst those that have been trained and some people are interested in setting-up their mini factories.
“The process is basic for any fish you desire to can, but for this project, we are using catfish and tilapia.”
