The Fishery Society of Nigeria (FISON) has urged the Federal Government to facilitate the creation of fish markets across the country to boost production and income of farmers as well as ensure adequate protein intake.

Fish farming

The National President of the society, Dr Abba Abdullahi, made the call in an interview with the Vanguard in Abuja.

Abdullahi spoke against the background of the declaration of 2014 by the UN General Assembly as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) in a bid to prioritise agriculture in various countries.

It will be recalled that the International Year of Family Farming 2014 is an initiative promoted by the World Rural Forum and supported by over 360 civil society, farmers’ organisations and the 37th Food and Agriculture (FAO) Conference.

This worldwide celebration, declared by the United Nations General Assembly, aims to become a tool to stimulate active policies for sustainable development of agricultural systems-based farmer families, communal units, indigenous groups, cooperatives and fishing families.

The work is being done from the perspective of effectively combating poverty and hunger and the search for a rural development based on the respect for environment and biodiversity.

The FISON President said:“We have gone ahead already as far as fish farming is concerned in this country.

“What we really want now is markets for our products so we can sell and make a better living from what we do.’’

He urged fish farmers to cooperate with the society “so that we can better share knowledge to solve problems and increase production’’.

In a separate interview, the President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr Abubakar Wodi, confirmed the readiness of rice farmers to key into the UN declaration.

Wodi noted that farmers were always ready to do their jobs, if the government and the sponsors of the programme would play their role.

He, however, accused government officials of initiating programmes without following up to ensure proper execution and the media for also publishing the take-off of agricultural programmes without monitoring their execution.

Wodi also alleged that publications by the media were not often a true reflection of the situation on the farms.“Farmers are ever ready to do their jobs, but are the government and sponsors of such programmes committed?

“In Thailand, Japan and China, farmers are on the farms, but here in Nigeria, some farmers are on paper.’’

Wodi urged rice farmers in the country to keep working hard to feed the nation ahead of Federal Government’s plan to ban rice importation.