Catfish farmers call for increased production of catfish oil

Mr Olatoye Fajimi, incoming chairman, Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN) has called for increased production of catfish oil to increase revenue generation in the sector.

Fajimi made the call in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday in Lagos.

He noted that the association is creating more awareness of catfish oil production with the training of processors to increase the sector’s viability.

“Basically, the way to harness catfish oil and increase productivity is to educate processors more about how to collect it and how to turn the fat in the visceral and the internal section of the fish into oil.

“That is what we are basically doing as an association; we are training processors. We have been harvesting the catfish oil and a number of processors into it already.

“We have farmers selling catfish oil within the country but the issue is that we do not have enough volume.

“If we intend going into sustainable production of catfish oil, especially for export and even for local use, we must increase production.

“We are struggling for volume to produce because the volume can only be gotten when we increase the number of fish are we drying,” Fajimi said.

He also noted that, due to perceived preference for fresh catfish, the volume of catfish oil production is considerably low.

“So, there has to be massive demand and market for dried fish before you can talk about removing the fat, accumulating fat in them to turn to oil. So, the catfish oil is a by-product of the fish drying process.

“About 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the catfish produced in Nigeria are sold fresh, while only about 30 per cent to 40 per cent is smoked because of people who prefer ‘point and kill’, and “pepper soup”.

“So, if we can get more farmers to roast their catfish and get more markets, demand for roasted catfish, then definitely, we can also harness more of the fat that is within the body to turn to healthy oil .

“A lot of extra revenue can be gotten from the roasted smoked catfish because in the process of drying, you get the oil.

“When you dry the catfish, you can keep it for longer and then farmers are not so under pressure to sell immediately because it will not die; and then we no longer spend more money feeding them.

“Once there is increased awareness of the benefits of harnessing catfish oil, local farmers will benefit more and increase their revenue,” he said.