A former president of Nigeria, Olusegun ObasanjoHe has said that the high cost of diesel, as well as the exchange rate in the country, are negatively affecting his fish business.
Mr. Obasanjo, a fish farm owner, spoke Tuesday at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during a Southwest Fish Farmers Price Sustainability Group Congress.
Mr. Obasanjo noted that the rising cost of diesel, as well as the steady rise in fish feed prices, will eventually drive Nigerian fish farmers out of business.
He advised farmers to agree on sustainable prices that could be adopted to keep them in business.
“The current price of diesel at 800 (naira) per litre, the output of a kilogram of fish is N1,400. For very marginal profit, farmers cannot sell less than 1,500 naira, as anything less amounts to an absolute loss,” the former president said.
He further said that fish farmers can no longer be producing at the mercy of buyers who would come to buy the fish for whatever quantity suits them without taking into account the effect of current economic prices on the production of said fish.
“The price of diesel has risen because the management of this country is not what it should be,” he said.
“And it’s as simple as that. So what’s going to happen is, particularly those of us who have to use a little bit of diesel to produce fish, we’re going to go completely bankrupt, and when that happens, Nigerians are still going to have to eat fish.
“Fish production will be out of our hands and then people will produce fish outside of Nigeria and dump it here. And you will be left jobless, poor and destitute. So what do we have to do? To unite… we want to sustain fish production and we must be able to take care of those who are going to eat and those we are producing”.
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He also asked the farmers: “How many of you are using diesel in your production? Because I use diesel and I’m already sweating. I’m already sweating.
The group’s chairman, Amoo Tunbosun, noted that the country currently consumes about 3.6 million metric tons of fish per year but only produces 1.12 million tons, leaving a balance of 2.6 million tons to import.
“This is the essence of this meeting, we realize that we have to take our destiny in our hands, we cannot continue to produce and be at the mercy of the buyers, we feel that we must turn around and do something for ourselves. We are starting with South-west and in a matter of time it will be in the whole country”.
Congress convener Steve Okeleji said fish farmers have decided to come together to rescue the industry.
“If everything was going to be fine with our economy, this congress would not have been necessary.
“So farmers need to be heard. We are also practically key players in the industry. In fact, we play an important role in the entire value chain of the industry. But the biggest challenge we have over time is that we can’t speak with one voice.”