Enhancing fish production for food security in Nigeria

Abstract

The continuous increase in fish demandhas conditioned Nigerians' inclination and taste for imported fish, developing the fish sub-sector of other economies, while damaging Nigeria's sector. Fish is known to be an important component of the human diet, accounting for over 20% of the average intake of animal proteins and essential fatty acids for around half of the world's population, particularly the poor, and adding significantly to their caloric intake (Food and Agricultural Organization-FAO, 2017). Despite Nigeria's high potential for fish production due to its extensive hydrographic resources, FAO (2017) reported that 60% of fish consumed in Nigeria is imported According to the FAO (2017), fish is an important dietary staple and one of the few sources of animal protein available to many Nigerians, with an estimated annual per capita fish consumption of 13.3 kg in 2013. As a result, the goal of this study is to investigate methods to increase fish productivity in Nigeria in order to promote food security. Nigeria was a net importer of fisheries items in 2013, with $1.2 billion in imports and $284,390 million in exports. One of the most important sources of revenue is fishing. In 2014, there were 713,036 people working in inland fisheries, with women accounting for 21% of the total. About 15% of the total 764,615 people engaged in other fisheries were women in 2014 (FAO, 2017). The study employed the DOLS estimation technique to capture the long run dynamics of each explanatory variable on the dependent variable. Major findings revealed that, a percent increase in the total level of fish production will induce 655.88 percent simultaneous increase in food security, while a percent increase in the number of fishermen induces 28.01 rise in the level of food security. The study recommends the implementation of an aquaculture transformation agenda to increase domestic fish production to bridge demand-supply gap and at the long run increase food supply.