LASG Begins Value Intervention For Artisanal Fishing Communities

Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya

The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, has announced the commencement of an empowerment programme for artisanal fisheries in the state.
Olusanya stated that low catches have reduced the income of practitioners in the sector and resulted in rural-urban drift by younger fishermen seeking greener pastures.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, has announced the commencement of an empowerment and capacity building programme for artisanal fisheries within local communities in the state.

Making the disclosure, Olusanya explained that the intervention arose from the concern that fish landings by these fishermen have not been maximised, especially due to the high cost of fishing inputs and undesirable fishing practices.

She noted that low catches have reduced the income of practitioners in the sector and resulted in rural-urban drift by younger fishermen seeking greener pastures.

According to the commissioner, the state government has been empowering fishermen in the state with outboard engines, provision of boats and nets, among other equipment, to reduce the shuttle time during their fishing activities and support their operations in order to reverse this trend.

“We are also sensitising and building their capacity on obnoxious fishing practices, utilisation and maintenance of the newly introduced 4-stroke outboard engines, as well as collaborating with financial institutions for alternative sources of finance,” she averred.

The commissioner pointed out that the artisanal fisheries value intervention would help provide access to cheap sources of finance for the acquisition of fishing inputs for fishermen.

Olusanya said it will also make fishing attractive and seamless to youths, who in the past were neither ready to adopt fishing as a profession nor replace the ageing fishermen population.

She stated that the intervention would improve fish landing per unit effort; increase income and provide opportunities for fishermen to have access to banking services at various fishing communities while creating jobs and reducing the increasing rural-urban drift.

She disclosed that the state had comparative advantage in fishing and related activities within coastal communities, whose residents are predominantly fishermen, adding that the government would do all in its power to develop the fisheries sector in order to maximise productivity.