Kenechukwu Ofomah
A 5-day financial literacy training for Anambra youth-led fish production co-operatives has ended in Awka, the state capital.
It targets stability for table catfish production businesses in the area in actualization of the Fish4ACP Catfish Value Chain Upgrading Strategy to shore up the state’s contribution to the production and supply of table catfish from Nigeria’s stock to that of the Africa, Carribean and Pacific, ACP.
30 fish business owners participated in the training sponsored and organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN).
The training took place under FAO’s FISH4ACP global programme covering 12 countries across Africa, Caribbean and Pacific.
It is an enhancement of the youths trained on table fish production business in by the state Fisheries and Aquaculture Business Development Agency, FABDA, the one Youth two skills and the ECOWAS Youth Training on Table Fish Production Business System and Technology.
The service provider for the Financial Literacy training was the Fate Foundation.
Viable industrialized value chain
During the training, FABDA Managing Director and Focal Person for the State’s relations with the FAO on the Fish4ACP Program, Mr. Emeka Iloghalu, gave an overview of how the training came about.
According to him, under the Fish4ACP, the Catfish Value Chain was selected to be upgraded to become a viable industrialized value-chain in Nigeria.
“So, this program is to shore up production and supply of fish from the ACP.
For Nigeria, the FAO, first, went about the entire country to get the baseline for the Catfish activities in Nigeria. Anambra was one of the states they visited in the Southeast.
“In March 2022, the entire Catfish Value Chain stakeholders were assembled in Abuja, about 120 persons and the data collected across Nigeria was presented for validation and finally, the report came out.
In June 2022, 50 persons from across Nigeria were brought together in Lagos, to further plan and develop the strategy to implement the upgrading. The planning finished successfully, and the report came out.
Eventually, the upgrading strategy was launched in June 2023, after all the works and the implementation began,” he disclosed.
He said the training was to equip the table catfish producers with the necessary financial knowledge and tools for success in table catfish production.
“This training seeks to make them run their operations like a business and they have now become familiar with tenets.
“The financial terminologies as regards to money and business are now clearer to them. Now, FABDA, the government and the producers are on the same page,” he noted.
Participants to step training down
The President, Aquaculture Value Chain Initiative, AVCI Anambra State, Mr Benedict Ibekie, revealed that 30 fish business operators were selected for the intensive training.
According to him, participants will afterwards train up to additional 90 operators along the fish value chain to extend the knowledge to achieve sustainability.
“We have learnt a lot; recording, how to separate our businesses from our personal finances. This helps to avoid mixing revenue and expenditure up.
“Also, the state government through FABDA is supporting the programme because of the impact it will have on the fish businesses.
“So, when these 30 Catfish businesses and the other cooperatives survive, we will record significant milestones in the Catfish production businesses.
“The value chain businesses that abound will continue to present more opportunities for wealth creation and also enhance food security,” he said.
A fish producer, Ukamaka Ifejirika said she has empowered with requisite knowledge to set short-term and long-term goals and insurance policy.
“This knowledge will help me plan my business and avoid risks that can crash my business.
The young fish producer expressed the hope that the next training will focus on assisting them secure a reliable insurance company that is working, that they can subscribe to.
