35 Nigerian Tribune
Tuesda)'. 28 February. 2012
Tope PopooJa is • Human Capital Development
Consultant and Pastor. Please feel free to send questions, feedback comments on this coJumnto
tQgheritagef!yahoo.rom or visit htlpll~
oluwalomAg~culturl! li~~;~~;i:~§~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;~l
Urban Backyard Farming lind promoting i thl! author of 'Railing Snail. For Locitl and Conta ct:u.rb&nag ricOyahoo.com. www urbanagrleng.o.rg
Catfish farming business in Nigeria St-l fanntng In Nigeria is culRl1tly very lucratlvc bUSiness and It Is mainly boosted by Lile contInu· rtse In the demand for catfish.
The beauty of order F:
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was going 10 lx! a long walt at !he London Heathrow airport between my night from Washington DC and the night to Lagos. The overnight n(gill from DC had been very bumpy and II was praeLlcally Impossible to get some slcep. So rather !han spend fourteen long hours at the airport. I decided to go Into town to spend some Itme with a relation who lives about an hour from !he airport. Having gone lhrough security and ImmlgraUon checks, I made my way to !he Central Bus Station to take the nrsl of my two buses to my desUnation. After a few minutes wall In the chilly westher. my bus came along . I was the only passenger wailing for It. lIere. the arrival of the bus at any bus stop was limed and timely . Clve or take about three minutes , when you stand al a bus stop. you know how long you have to waH bdore your bus shows up . Notic es al the bus SlOp would help you to calculate how long you have to walt for and the estimated time of a rrival at your RnaJ destination . Here. peo ple estlmale distance In time rather than In miles o r kllometrcs. As soon as I entered and swiped my Oyster card on Ihe fare machine. the driver closed Ihe door and moved. My Nlgenan sense a nd experienc e wllh Danfo wondered why he didn 't wait for o ther passengers 10 at least (111 up some of the .space before mOVing But Ihen . It occurred to me that this SOCiety ts wired differently from the o ne I had bcen used to This contrast was (uflher heigluened later that day as I walled at Lile airport for the nlglH 10 Lagos. There had been a delay as a result or .iii fault th.lilt warranted a change of alrcrafl. When evenlunlly Ibe announcement for boarding was made. I was .IiIppalled at how my compatriots stood up and swarmed towards the boarding gate as Irall of us could enter Ihe plane at lhe same lime. It dldn't seem to maller to them that ordered (uncllon had ensured that everyone who had made It to llle boarding gate with an ok lIcket. was guaranleed a seat on the aircraft and regardless of how early or late you boarded. your position was secure.. Order makes outcomes predictable. Order Is the mainframe of dfecLlve structure . II Is the anlldote to Ihe unpredlctabllllY and consequent hnpelessness of ebaos. In my study o( highly successful people. J have discovered thaI the essential Ingredient that anchors their accomplishments Is their uncanny capacity to Institute order around t~ They have In the most parL
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learnt to say 'No' to the good so they can say 'Yes' to the better. Chaos on the ollIer hand merely generates acllvlly fmostly stressrul and energy · dralnlngl without corresponding producLlvlty. A chaoUc life Is a recipe for disaster for the simple reason lhat It NEVER takes respon.slbility to be the change II aeeks In SOCiety. It always seeks to cui corners , taking advantage of others and taking (ar more form Hie than It IS willing to ever contribute to IL Chaos is actually !hc progenitor 01 laZiness. It Is my avowed opinion that I«ztness Is not complaccnt Idleness or a lack of activity but actlvlty In the wrong dlrecUOn. How can a person who spends a dally average of four or more waking hours watching 1V. RIms or listening to mUSiC ever hope to secure 1I place In the committee of greal and Innuentlal people unless of course !hose activities arc directly related to and deliberately structured In the pursuit of a desllny In the entertainment world? My expo.sure to highly funcllonal nallons has opened my eyes to Ihe faci that order. nOI numeri c al claSSific ation . ts the difference between the FIrSt and Third worlds . Order Is the difference between a garden and a bush . Order Is the dividing line between emergendes and expediencies . II prlorlllzcs lind structures a c tivity and ultimately results In sustainable productivity. A mynad of l.;>Sues compete for our atlenUon on a dally basis. each Olle constantly asserting pr1de 0( pla~ as deserving of Inllncdlate attention and aCllon. An ordered life helps us 10 slot each one In the appropr1ate pigeon hole without the horror of !he guilt · feeling of having left some things undone . Order helps you to sci and recognlU boundaries while alerting you to !.he limits of. your human capacity. With order, you know what you must do as opposed to what you can do. A well-ordered life opens your eyes to many things you can do but would ra!her nOI do so that you can give nmple Ume to lhe things that you MUST do. Life offers u.s many options bUI the laws of achleveJ!lcnt demand that such options muSI be streamlined and selecllvely d~ployed to serve the purpose of destiny fulRimenL TIlls Is the reason that high achievers set goals and meUCUlously pursue them. Ouess~hal? Thc disorder In lhe lives o( the aimless Is !he very fuel for the success of goa.l-geuers. Which would you rather bet the (uel or the goal· getter? Remember. t he sky Is Dot you r 11m!! God lsi
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This trend. therefore, makes catfish culture the most popular fonn o(!\.!th fanning In Nigeria and II Is therefore where !he discourse of thiS article IS going to be centn:d. Whether yot.I an: Just stanlng out In aquaculture wi!h the hope of maklngJust an extra Income Of' going InlO full scale commercial production, Here you will dl.scover t.be prospects and Ihe chaJlenges facIng the: catfish Industry In Nigeria. Overview o( Oab farml.oll in Nigeria Let me start by giVIng you a qutck overvtew of the stale of fi.sh fanntng In NIgeria. The m081 common species found In Nigeria are; Clarlas garleplnus, Heterobranchus bldorsalis, C larlali X Helerobranchus hybrid (Heteroc larlas) and Clarla.s nlgro dlgltatus. HetcrobmnchU5 sp are vcry common In Lile south eastem pan of Ntgcrta wt!h dartas spp domlnaung In the waiL Despite the popularily of catflsh farming In NIgeria , the nsh farming Indusuy can best be described as being at the Infum stage when compared to the large markel potenllal for 115 productkKl and marketlng. llll5ls mainly due 10 unavatJabllUy or nngerllngs owing 10 lac k of adequate Infrastructure for halcheries alxt nngerllng productIOn Breeding lfyou Intend lOgo Into catfish fanning In N'!l,eria. the I1rst Ihlng you have to get hold o( Is the fingerIJ~. The fingcrling can be obtained mainly thro ugh arllficlal propagation In the halchel1cs !hrough honnonal induc UQn. If you Inlend to produce your own ferillized eggs, you can make USC': of the homoplastIc pitUitary gland suspenslon. In Nigeria . It Is usually more affordable than the Imported homlOnai analogues. Flsh fanners abo say thai they an: more reliable. And I serIOusly don't doubt !hem But despite the beauly of induced .spawning. lhere are Challenges which you must fa~: both biotic and ablouc challenges. These problems all have their rool in the extra care needed to be given to the fry during the Orsl wec:k of life. In this regard, you have to battle wtLil provisiOn 0( woplankton which serves as feeds for the larvae, fry and Hngerllngs thus playing B major role on !heir growth and survtval. There Is also the problem of ca.nnlballsnl. hea.vy PJ'Cdauon by frogs t aquatic Insects and the abiotic challenges such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen l>'l.5mg/ t...1J. levds of ammonia. The brood stock 10 use for t.he PUI'pO!le of breeding should be betwec:n O.3kgand 2kg. Culture S,..tem Nat !htng on the: line ls the cuJtu~ system you wtll use. First and foremost. you have to be aware that these African catnshes
{especially Clarlas garleptnusl are cannibals us such So you should take great care In sor1Jng them according to Size. Uyou Intend to culture the nngerllng outdoor, you should lake Into consl· deration !he prevalence of predatory Insects In Nigeria Therefore, ensure you cover the tanks with mosquito nelS .so as to kecp Ihe predatory Insects away. For Lile adult, poly culture of clartas garleplnus with Ulapla spp Is very common In Nigena and hu been known over the years 10 be productive.. This Is carried out. using mainly concrele tanks whic h allow supple· mentary feeding. thus c.nsurtng higher fish y1eld. Some few fanners also usc lndoor water re-clrculatory system (WRSJ. BUI It Is costlier, so most simply use the concrete lanks. Feed aod feed.lnll Plelh<Wb To achieve ma..11mal yield and growth ofcatllsh In Nigerta. you have to ensure that the feed you a re offering contatns Ihe essential amino acids such as arginine, methlolune and lysine found In crude protein soUn.'es. TIle rtchest SOUIU: of crudc protein for Ihls purpose Is fishmea1. But due to 1111 htgh cost. It l.s advtsable not to go (or It He. If you are JUSI slarllng o UI I. Instead. you can usc other convenllOnal and someumcs unconventional animal by· produc ts as well as plant ra;ldue {.suchasgroundnu tcakt:. soyabeancake et c_I that mee t the nutrient requlre.menls of catfi.sh ThlS IS In ordt:r to minimize cost o f produc tion as much as possible. Through d~'CIClpment or fish farming over the years In Nigeria . feedIng o( catfish Is predominantly d o ne using pelle ted ncaung fecds . This ensuru adequate fcedlng of the fish Ihus Increased growth ra te . Howcvcr when (eedtng. It Is advtsable 10 do lion a particular pan 0( the pond instead of Just scallenng the feed a cross the water s urface. TIllS helps 10 minimize waslage 0( feed. Concl usion Fmally, fish fanning m Nlgerta IS an untapped goIdmlne based on lhe fac t thai lhcre Is an ~"er In~tng need (or II as the besl allern8tlve to meel Lile protcin need o( lhe people. However. development 01 aquac ul · ture Is completely hlnducd by lnherent problems ol developIng naOons 5uch as lack of adequale I.nfra.structul1ll facilities for the producuoo of cornmerctaI quantity nngerlmgs and by. ThIS majOr problem not withstanding. there ls stili a big .market for fish fBmm~ and Invesuncnt In aquaculture in Nlgerta. (CounesyjlshJrumtngbuslness.com) Peedback.: It will be good to hear from you If you have Invested In the nsh fanntng Industry ill N~ We want to know what your own personal experiences are and you can also order for a VCO on catflsb nngerllngs production at a reasonable fee. This will help you with detailed tnlonnauon on how to produ~ and manage your ~ nngcrllngs and liell excess to other fanners.