NIGERIA – The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the University of Ibadan (UI), has distributed 150,000 catfish fingerlings to fish farmers in Oyo State.
At the ceremony, the head of department, Prof Bamidele Omitoyin, said the project was done in collaboration with the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme WAAPP (Nigeria) and the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), reports TheNation.
He thanked the farmers for believing in the department, saying that the project will lead to the growth of fish farming in the country.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka, said he was happy because the project became imperative as “oil is failing us as a nation and gradually there has been a talk about diversification. Various agribusinesses have started springing up”.
According to the VC, who was represented by the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Prof Eustace Iyayi, the department is one of the flagship departments in the faculty and one of the best in aquaculture in the country.
Beneficiaries got 70,000 fingerlings during the first phase while another set got 80,000 fingerlings in the second phase.