Case study: Catfish Sustainability Project helps small-scale farmers succeed

The project is funded by Nutreco and Skretting Nigeria and facilitated by the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) NGO in Ibadan and operates in three states of the federation.

We kicked off the sixth year of the project with a target of supporting 1,200 catfish farmers in 2022, and we exceeded that mark by reaching 1,225 direct beneficiaries in 64 catfish farmer groups. Out of these 64 groups, 30 have successfully initiated cooperatives, four of which had existed before the project intervention.

To further sustain the small-scale farmers’ catfish businesses, the farmer groups successfully launched an Apex body in 2022, with clearly defined aims and objectives. The Apex body brings together representatives from each group to discuss major challenges facing the industry and offer solutions.

The results prove the effectiveness of the project:

  • Farmers have been able to improve the survival of their fish stocks by 34.78%, increasing from 69% in 2016 to 93.5% in 2022.
  • We have also seen a 30.58% reduction in feed waste, improving the feed conversion ratio from
    1.7 to 1.18.
  • Harvest weight has increased by 155%, boosting the farmers' profits by 86.18%.
  • The project resulted in the production of fish free of toxic materials and a reduction in the level of environmental pollution.

Success stories