A project beneficiary shows off his stock in appreciation to FAO and her donors

Maiduguri - The journey from Maiduguri to Gombe lasts at least six hours, if the vehicle is in its best condition. With most commercial vehicles rarely in the best shape, Nasiru Ibrahim travels longer than that to restock his fish business. After the conflict in northeast Nigeria disrupted a flourishing fish trade in Borno, Nasiru has learned to endure the stressful journey to Gombe, a relatively peaceful state also in northeast Nigeria.

‘This is my passion. It is a family business’ he said. Nasiru is a fish trader in Maiduguri. From a young age, he has learned the fish trade from his parents. Years later, after his parents decided to take a rest, Nasiru took full charge. Then, his fish stock used to come primarily from the Lake Chad area.

As a result of the crisis, fishing activities in Borno were disrupted. For Nasiru, supply gradually became irregular that at some point, he rarely had fish to sell. To keep his business running, he would travel to Gombe, albeit with the extra costs and risks. ‘My goal was to keep the business alive. I could not imagine myself doing another type of work.’

But on 31 October 2019, Nasiru was in Zabarmari town, some 35 minutes’ drive from his Maiduguri shop to buy as many fish as he wanted.

His suppliers? Youth who had been trained and equipped on aquaculture practice under a European Union-funded initiative being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Reviving livelihood opportunities in fish production

Before the crisis, the fish industry provided direct and indirect employment for residents in rural Borno. Fishers, fish processors, marketers, retailers, and many other actors earned their living from fish production and its value chains. Income from the industry contributed significantly to the market performance of other goods and services like food items, household needs, school fees, etc.  But the adverse effects of the conflict on the fish industry resulted in substantial loss of rural livelihoods.

As part of its comprehensive response programme to restore agriculture-based livelihoods in the state, FAO launched its aquaculture initiative in April 2019. The initiative is designed to build the technical capacity of selected fish actors on safe and sustainable aquaculture.

Some of the 25 000 juveniles distributed to 50 beneficiaries in April 2019 selected from Jere and Monguno LGAs matured for harvest in October 2019. The beneficiaries have begun selling, with sales and marketing guidance from FAO. This has boosted the availability of fish for local traders, especially around the benefiting communities- Dusman, Zabarmari, Gongulong, and Monguno.

The initiative has likewise boosted fish availability for women fish processors in the communities. In Monguno LGA, a popular restaurateur, Hadiza Yusuf prepares ‘fish pepper soup’ to complement her sales.‘When I have fish pepper soup, I have more patronage because most people enjoy fresh fish’ she explained.  Before the FAO fish cluster started producing, she used to order fish from traders in Maiduguri, who themselves had sourced the product from neighbouring states. The high risk of attacks along the Maiduguri-Monguno route meant she paid more to ensure she had fish to sell.

But with the cluster only few blocks from her restaurant, she now buys fish daily to complement her sales. In Monguno, residents live within a military-defined perimeter and employment opportunities are rare. With the prospects of more sales, Hadiza employed more youth, most of whom are women.

The FAO aquaculture beneficiaries also enjoy the patronage of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who purchases the fish through a local aggregator. IOM also uses this approach to purchase poultry products from FAO’s poultry beneficiaries, most of whom are women in IDP camps. The aggregator employs at least six youth, who collect the products and deliver to designated locations. IOM adds the products to the menu in humanitarian hubs in the state.

Improving household nutrition

Food insecurity and malnutrition are major challenges, especially for millions of women and children affected by the crisis. Fish provides dietary diversity for rural households and has nutrients that are essential for children’s growth, particularly in the first 1 000 days, and lactating women. FAO recognizes availability and accessibility as pillars of food security; that is food is not only available but accessible without protection risks. The FAO aquaculture programme makes fish nutrients easily accessible to rural households at the community level.

Sustainable water management for income generation

Through the aquaculture initiative, FAO is also promoting sustainable water management whereby, supported beneficiaries cultivate vegetable gardens around each cluster. These gardens which are irrigated with wastewater from the fish tanks, are cultivated with crops like Amaranth, Okra, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Roselle, among others. The approach ensures that the beneficiaries derive optimum advantage from the water used in the fish farms.

Beneficiaries began harvesting the vegetables few months after cultivation therefore providing them a source of income, besides the fish sales. Using proceeds from the gardens, beneficiaries are able to manage the clusters, access periodic stipends for themselves and supplement the nutrition needs of their households. At peak, each garden generates between NGN 8 000 and 12 000 (USD 22 and 33) weekly. The availability of water for irrigation means harvest from the gardens is all year round.

For the beneficiaries, the capacity to self-generate income will enhance their transition from aid dependence to self-sufficiency. It also allows them to gradually rebuild their productive asset base. The FAO aquaculture initiative is self-sustaining; beneficiaries are already reinvesting income from fish sales in another production cycle. The FAO aquaculture initiative will empower 200 male youth over three years.

Additionally, FAO has finalized plans to train 200 rural women in Borno on improved fish processing and equip them with the FAO-Thiaroye fish processing machine, an environment-friendly fish processing kiln. Traditional methods of fish processing pose significant health risks to fish processors (majority of whom are women) and reduce the quality of fish processed. Moreover, the methods exacerbate environmental degradation through Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and its need for more firewood.  Comparatively, the FAO-FTT effectively address these gaps. Fish processed by the FTT model also has longer shelf-life, and this reduces post-production losses for fish processors.

The FAO aquaculture initiative in Borno is implemented under the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) three-year project in the state. The project is expected to create sustainable employment and livelihood opportunities for nearly 100 000 households, through a mix of agriculture programmes which focus on women and youth.

Contact

Opeyemi Olagunju

Communication and Reporting Officer

FAO Nigeria Maiduguri Sub-Office

Government House Road Maiduguri, Borno state.

[email protected] 

+234 (0) 806 516 6646