FG to ban fish importation- Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, says Nigeria will stop fish importation soon. The minister disclosed this while receiving members of the National Fish Association of Nigeria (NFAN) led by its National President, Dr. Gabriel Ogunsanya.

The minister said he is reducing the number of licenses for fish importation, in order to boost local Production. Nanono said: “Last year, we issued about one million licenses. This year, I virtually cut it into half. “I hope next year we will further cut it so that in the next two years we may rely entirely on what we produce here.”

“Since you are producers and probably processors it is important to take note of your development in the fish sector towards this,” he said. “In the next years, probably we will not allow importation of fish into the country. “I know people are saying we can only rear catfish, tilapia and a few other species but most of the white fish they do, do not do well here. “But I know for a fact that the consumption of catfish is very high in this country both the fresh one as well as the smoked one. “In fact, I was made to understand that it now has export market. So, if you put your head together and work hard, the future is very bright for fish producers in this country,” he added.

Responding, the President of NFAN, Dr. Gabriel Ogunsanya, commended the Federal Government for its efforts in boosting Fish production, and solicited for more support from government institutions.