Abstract
Aquaculture which deals mainly with the farming of fish has great potential and benefits that ranges from its nutritional purpose to economic benefits, contribution to food security, employment and income generation. As the natural fish stock declines due to over-exploitation, aquaculture has experienced spectacular growth in Nigeria recently. Despite this growth in the sector, fish supply is yet to meet the demand. i.e. as fish demand increases with increase in population, there is no sufficient increase in supply to meet up with the demand. This shows that more attention needs to be paid to this sector in terms of grants permission, improved technologies, orientation programs and also importantly, human resources for the sector to reach its maximum potential. However, it has been observed that youth involved in aquaculture are few, even as the rate of unemployment keeps increasing. This is as a result of some factors limiting their participation in the sector. To increase the involvement of the youth in the sector, some effective measures such as provision of loan scheme for graduates and school leavers, development of participatory programs and effective extension work need to be adopted. The participation of the youth in aquaculture will not only help the sector to reach its full potential but also contribute to the reduction of unemployment among the youth, as there are opportunities in the sector waiting to be tapped.
Highlights
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of agriculture with huge potential
The recent popularity of aquaculture in the country is as a result of a decline in the natural stock
This paper aims to evaluate the factors limiting the participation of youth in the aquaculture sector, the ways to improve the participation of the youth in the sector and the potential contribution of aquaculture in the reduction of unemployment among youth
Summary
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of agriculture with huge potential. It occurs in inland and only recently has the coastal region been the focus of development [1]. As the human population increases and consequent protein demand, the over-exploitation of the natural fish resources has made aquaculture a major option to combat protein malnutrition in the country [1]. The demand for fish protein is about 2.7million MT and only 800,000 MT is produced locally. It shows that there is still a short in supply of about 1.9million MT [2]. For the potential of this sector to be maximized, there must be a significant increase in the involvement of personnel in every area of the sector
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