The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Bayero University, Kano, has trained 96 women and youths in fisheries under the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project.
Mr Isiyaku Mohammed, a lecturer at the department, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the training was sponsored by the APPEALS project under its empowerment programme.
He said of the total number of participants, 49 were sponsored by the APPEALS project in Kogi state while the remaining 47 were from APPEALS Kano state office.
This is a very good initiative because it will go a long way in empowering the participants to be self-reliant and contribute to the economy.
“Even though fish farming is labour intensive but it is a money-spinning venture. So, once you know the technical know-how, you make a lot of money from the business,” he said.
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He, therefore, called on the youth to embrace fishery, saying it is a good business that can provide a source of livelihood to them as well as become employers of labour in their respective areas.
According to him, the department will soon begin training of individual entrepreneurs in order to expand the training programme.
He said it would give interested individual entrepreneurs the opportunity for massive production of fish in the country.
The minimum number of people we train at a time is 20 persons but we are trying to start training individual entrepreneurs in order to encourage people to embrace the business or venture into fisheries and aquaculture,” he said.
The lecturer called on other organisations to sponsor similar training of unemployed women and youth to reduce the unemployment challenges facing the country.
Mohammed called on the Kano State government to consider the possibility of expanding the two major fish markets located at Zoo Road and Galadima area in Kano metropolis.
He noted that the expansion of the markets would enable fish farmers to take their product to the markets for sale to buyers as well as to enhance the business.
(NAN)
