Minister Gives Fish Farmers 2 Months To Develop Their Ponds Or Have Them Revoked

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has given allottees of Farm House plots at the Bwari Fish farm Estate a two-month deadline within which to develop the plots, especially the fish ponds or have the allocations revoked.

The minister, who gave the order today, Friday, when he paid an unscheduled visit to the Bwari Fish Farm Estate in Bwari Area Council, expressed disappointment at the poor level of development in the estate even as he warned that beneficiaries of the fish estate who continue to shun the site would have their plots revoked in the next two months if they fail to turn up.

“All those people who have plot in this place, I want everybody to come and put his fish pond within two months or else we revoke the allocation. I was very amazed when the head of fishery was telling me that all the people refused to come here because there was no road; there was no water. Those of us in the village, are you saying if there is no road, you won’t go to your farm? It is the farmer that creates the road by going to and from his farm.”

He said that the Fish Farm Estate is a government intervention initiative that commenced in 2012 to encourage families to go into fish farming, leveraging on the water resources available in the FCT as well as the enormous market and, based on the realization that there is a huge gap between the demand for fish and the supply for fish.

Malam Musa Bello said that the project, which has an estimated capacity of 500 metric tons of fish per annum, is expected to create employment opportunities for residents of the FCT as well as contribute to national fish production.

He stressed that the project is in line with the general policy of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration of job creation and economic empowerment for the populace and should therefore not be abandoned by the beneficiaries.

The Minister assured that as part of his general policy of ensuring that all projects that are meant to be of immense benefit to the residents of the FCT that were commenced by previous administrations are completed, he will ensure that the project is completed in order to fulfill this mandate. [myad]