Catfish farming involves rearing of catfish for mainly commercial purpose. It can be setup using construction of concrete ponds, earthen pond or tarpaulin ponds.
There are several sectors you can venture into in catfish farming, which are:
- Fingerlings or juvenile production
- Table size fish production
- Production of broodstocks
This essay will focus on the production of table-size fish, which entails raising fingerlings until they are big enough to be sold on the market.
You may establish a catfish farming business anyplace, especially in a tropical climate like ours. It is an easy and adaptable animal husbandry-based enterprise.
Also, you can run a catfish farming business from your home, especially if you have a large compound.
The most prevalent catfish species in Nigeria include: Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis, Clarias X Heterobranchus hybrid (Heteroclarias) and Clarias nigro-digitatus.
In the south-eastern region of Nigeria, heterobranchus species are quite prevalent, while clarias species predominate in the west.
Despite the fact that catfish farming is quite popular in Nigeria, the fish farming sector is still in its infancy compared to the enormous market potential for its production and marketing.
This is mainly because there aren’t any fingerlings available because there isn’t enough infrastructure to support hatcheries and the production of fingerlings.
Below, you will see how a catfish business can be operated.
Steps involved in setting up a catfish farm
- Conduct Market research in your area
This involves knowing the level of demand of catfish in your area.
You might only need to conduct a cursory inquiry of market vendors, lodging establishments, dining establishments, and other catfish buyers and sellers. Find out the cost of a catfish at full size as well as the time of year when catfish are in high demand.
- Develop a feasibility study of the business
It is very important to have a proper knowledge of how much it will cost you. The cost will depend on the season, the size of business you want to run and the cost of materials at the time.
Your key expensive will include: construction catfish tank (pond), buying quantity of catfish to start your business, buying feeds and probably drilling a borehole for proper water supply. All these should be embodied in your business plan, if you have any.
You can arrive at specific costs by going out to ask questions in the form of survey. If possible, find out also the range of profit that can be made in catfish farming business in your area. Consider all important items needed for the operation of your catfish and also your production plan annually, such as feed, fuel, equipments and machineries, work force, supplies, utilities, repairs and emergency funds.
- Get to know Your Competitors
For you to make headway in catfish business, you know those you compete with. You must know their capabilities such as how big they are, the catfish species that they grow, their customers, their strengths and weaknesses. This helps you to build a competitive advantage for your business.
- Construct the catfish pond
Setting up your catfish pond largely depends on the capacity you want to operate. You can go with either a small pond or a large one. It is important that you select the best location needed for your catfish farming business. Not having enough space for the ponds can cause big disaster for you. Please don’t build it yourself if you don’t have the experience. Get an expert advice so that you can construct the type of pond that will enable your fish to have a healthy growth. You can also consider the option of starting your catfish farming using tarpaulin pond, its capital intensive than concrete pond.
- Procure quality fingerlings or Juveniles
Most failures in catfish farming is as a result of buying less quality fingerlings or juveniles which end up having stunt growths or low growth rate. To get quality juveniles look for farm with reputable track record to buy your stocks.
- Feeding the catfish
You must feed the catfish with quality feeds that contain the right and balance nutrients for catfish. Also, the water must always be fresh, either from borehole or river. Treated water like tap water or even rain water cannot be recommended because it can lead to mortality.
- Health management
Catfish can develop symptoms of unhealthiness. When you begin to notice inactivity, change of colour, bloated body, cloud eyes, open sores, red streaks, etc, take adequate action. You must be very observant about the catfish you rear to avoid epidemic of a particular disease and deal with any disease when it is noticed. To avoid mortality, you must pay attention to your farm, seek assistant from mentor and experts.
- Maintain proper records of your income and expenses
Maintain accurate records of number of fish in a particular pond, how much it cost you to buy fingerlings and how much you sold. Make it a habit to record all transactions of your business. So that you will be able to observe your business growth.
Conclusion
Catfish farming business in Nigeria is a very lucrative agribusiness, anybody that is determined to succeed should venture into it. But you cannot go into it without proper knowledge of the catfish farming, otherwise you end up in regrets. Value addition is also important if you want to take your catfish farming to another level.
