He Started a Backyard Fish Farm in Nigeria

The demand of fish in this country, we have not made half of it, not even quarter of it. The demand of fish? The demand of fish, yes. Since it's like a catfish now, or fish now is like the cheapest protein you can have. Because the cost of goat meat now, because the cost of a cow meat now is not even chicken. Chicken, small chicken you sell That means a lot of people need to go into fish farms. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Outside the consumption, it helps reduce the poverty alleviation issues in the state, in the country. I was into transportation trucking precisely. When I had a crash in it, I thought of what to do. A friend of mine now told me, I need to give him thoughts about farming. And my knowledge was like farming, cassava, maize. I said, no, I won't have the strength to do this. You know, there's one thing a lot of people think that when you say farming, it all means for you to be into hard work, digging the ground. A lot of people have that mentality up there. When you say, I'm farming, I'm not saying no, I can't, I can't, I won't be able to till ground and all that. He said, no, you said house boundary. It's okay, house boundary, tell me about it. I've been mentioning of them, pigweed, snail and all that. But the one that got my attention was the poultry and the fishery. Welcome back once again to my YouTube channel. It's your boy Chidera Nwafo. And I've been telling you guys one thing that agriculture is the way forward in Africa. And there's this misconception going on that agriculture is for poor people. But I'm here to help change that narrative. I'm going to be doing a small business series, interviewing a lot of farmers. And so this can serve as a source of inspiration for you out there. I have a man here with me who is turning his backyard into a mega fish farm. And this is generating him a lot of revenue. This is something you also out there can do too. So if it's your first time seeing our channel, subscribe, like this video and come with me to see this man who is turning his backyard into a mega fish farm and making a lot of money out of it. Hello. Hello, sir. So what's your name, sir? Just introduce yourself to us. Okay. My name is Rolly Williams. I'm a fish farmer. How long have you been into aquaculture? It's been since 2012. 2012. So that's roughly 12 years. Okay. That's a really long time. Yes. Yes. So how has the business been? How has it been going? Yes, it was at the early stage of starting. It was a bit challenging. Yes. But along the line, since I got to understand everything, I went through the rudimentary training and everything. So I would say that it's the best decision I've made for myself. Being a graduate of... I have BSc in marketing. I have HND in business admin. So I now transform my knowledge into fish farming and I'm doing very well. Oh, do you think it's profitable? Oh, yes, it is. It's very, very. As a matter of fact, I did both poultry and fishery. The poultry was a bit challenging in terms of... Although it's a quick hash in poultry. Okay. But the mortality and the challenge of sweeping the pen and all that. And then when I weigh the... It's time consuming. Yeah. When I weigh the boots, I don't know why to switch to fishery. And I don't have anything to recruit. Oh. So basically, you hash this fish? Yes. On your own? Yes. So do you teach people how to hash it? Yeah, I do. A couple of... I had some students that came into training, which I finished with them and they are doing well now. Over time, I discovered that it was the best because after finishing school for these years and them not being able to get the desired job, which is white collar, and switching to this not intentionally, but due to condition. But I now discovered that I would ask my children to join me and be a part of this because there's more to achieve in it. I grow them from day old. I hash them. Then I sell the juvenile. I'm into juvenile production. I hash them. So what you can see here is my hatchery. So why is the hatchery indoors? Because it's a bit controlled weather and reaction. Everything about the temperature, the darkness. Catfish do well at a dark place. Oh, so catfish do well at a dark place? They do well at darkness. And so hatchery inside is controlled. Weather, name them. So that's why I prefer doing indoor hatchery. So how many times a day do you feed them when they're small? I feed them for four hours. For four hours? That means you need to be steady in the farm? You have nothing to do as a breeder. You don't have anything to do except. So if you want to accept, you're able to. Occasionally, when it comes to that first two, three, four weeks of their birth, I don't go far. I'm always around to make sure I take care of whatever should there be eventuality. Really, you don't. You focus here. That's just the whole thing. So all these features here that you are sorting, you hash them here in your farm? Yes. Wow. So like how many did you hash? It came out about 100, but as it grows towards 100,000. 100,000? Yes. 100,000 fishes? Yes. How long did that take you to hash? It was within 36 hours. 36 hours. 100,000 fishes. So the challenge comes in in taking care of it. Okay. To mature it to the juvenile stage. What I recommend to buyers is juvenile. Okay. Avoid the mysteries, avoid stress. What do you mean by juvenile? Juvenile is the size of a catfish that is a bit bigger, that can withstand stress, maybe whatever challenges that comes. But fingerlings are the ones to conventionally sell. And then most of the buyers have challenges with fingerlings. So I switch into juvenile so that at the end of the day, every buyer that gets it, finds it comfortable and okay. Based on their recommendation and appreciation, I see that it's what was right. That means someone can just go into fish farming and just be hashing and selling and not grow them to maturity. Just sell maybe the fingerlings or the juvenile. Yes. Like what I'm doing, although sometimes it seems as if it's not that strenuous. Because the moment you pass that first four weeks of their birth, the rest just feed, change water. So it will look as if you are jobless. And so I venture into the grout. Okay. So for the grout, it's not that stressful? No, no, no. Just change water. Feed them morning and night, you're good to go. So I know that as a farmer, you'll be having challenges once in a while. So what kind of challenges do you have? The challenge, if I should say, is just a challenge of feed. Because cost of feed now is on the high side and it's affecting us. Okay. Yes. Normally, like coupons, we the breeders, coupons, we were buying coupons, 18,000. When you say coupons, it's the name of a product. Okay. So the size, like for we breeders, we're buying coupons 0.3 to 0.8 to 1.5. We're buying it at a cost of 18,000 Naira. But now it's 42,000, 41,000. Okay. So you see the difference in it. So it's affecting. And then the 2mm for the juvenile production, 2mm we do buy for the juvenile was 26,000, 24,000. Okay. As I speak to you now, it's 63,000, 64,000. Oh. So you see the difference in it and it's affecting the price. And then for that reason, some customers complain the whole lot. So it looks as if you, the breeder, you're the one skyrocketing the price. So it's really affecting us actually. So who are your major customers? My major customers that spread across, I have some in Akwa Ibom, some in the northern side. Fellow farmers or consumers? Both consumers and fellow farmers. Okay. And the grower farmers. Yes. Because I do grow out too. So I have both in the area of consumption and the ones that actually are farming. Yeah. So over the time I've caught across the states and with customers. Okay. So I noticed some of the waters are kind of green. Does it not affect them? Well, the greenness of the water has to do with, we call them, it's algae. Algae growth due to the sun effects. Okay. And because if like in the hatchery, you won't have the green because it's out of sun. But when they're out here, they experience sun reaction. And the sun reaction, this was causing the algae growth. And then I wash it, I clean it up every week. But this one are my broodstocks, as you can see. So the algae at a certain point doesn't affect them that much because broodstocks prefer a place that is a bit dark, where they feel hidden, like hide from people's view. So okay, the broodstocks are the bigger ones? The broodstocks are the ones the parent stock are used in producing. Okay. So like this other pond, you see it's clean, that contains juvenile. With the broodstock container, the pond that contains broodstock doesn't really need to be washed every time. So how do you hatch? Okay, simply the act of taking the male, taking the female out, and then we have hormones that we inject the female with. Okay. And then we cut open the male to take out the sperm sac. Okay. You do all that on your own? Yes, it's quite technical, but it's not difficult. Oh, it's not difficult? So everyone can learn it? Of course, it's open to everybody. Okay, so how big of a space does someone need to start up a fish farm? You don't need much. If you want to go into a grout, you don't need much space. All you need to do is to have a 12 by 12 by 4 feet, two of those ponds, which can contain 2,000. 2,000 fish? Yeah. So for someone that wants to start with like maybe a small scale, maybe 500 fishes, it's still advisable, right? It's still advisable. Do you think fish farming is capital intensive? Yes, it's capital intensive. What I mentioned about 2,000 fishes to start, you'll be talking about, if you're doing to a table size, which is from 1kg, you'll be talking about 160 bags. 160 bags of feed? Yes, to take that 2,000, and then the cost of, because of the condition of the protein content that most of these feed companies are giving us. Initially, we were taking 70 bags, 75 bags, but now even at 80, with special care and combination of foreign feed and local feed, you have that, you have it at that six months, and then even at that cost, it runs into 1.6 million. Yeah, 1.5, 1.6 million. For 2,000 fishes. For 2,000 fishes. So if someone can go for like 500, that will be divided by four. Correct, correct. It's still, it's still something someone can try out. Of course. Maybe for those people that are looking for ways to invest. Thank you, thank you. They can just maybe put it in there. Yeah, yeah. So, okay, I want to, I would want to ask the question. You know, a lot of people want to be sure of what they are investing in. Yes, yes. So that they don't get to lose their money, or they don't get to invest, and the investment, the return does not come back. It doesn't come back, yes. What are the, what are the things you need to look out for when going into fish farming, so you don't lose your fish, your fish does not die, and that way you don't lose your money? I always advise most of the fresh, fresh farmers that wants to invest, that first and foremost, you consider the source of your seedlings, which is your stock. Okay. Yes, then secondly, you must have water, quality water around your environment. Two, you must have space, so in which an incoming farmer who wants to, if you can get good stock, quality water, water, and then space with good feed, you are good to go. You have water, you have space, you have feed, you have good stock, as in from where you buy your product. Yeah, that's the thing. Juvenile, juvenile precisely. I advise always for juvenile because of, one, mortality, two, period of cycling, cycle period. So if you have, make sure that those four aspects are being taken care of, then you don't have a challenge. Okay, so when you talk about the... And most importantly, a good mentor. A good mentor. Yes, to guide, to show you, guide you at least for your first harvest. Okay. So that continuously you can do your best. You don't just wake up and do it, you must always have somebody that... So you don't make a mistake. Yeah, so you must always have somebody that will be by your side, watch you step by step till you get to, because the moment you're done with that first harvest, at least by then you'll be able to So do fish have like, is there any medication you give to them or? I always recommend probiotics. Probiotics, this best, probiotics is more or less the organic, you use the word organic. Okay. Organic treatments. Okay. And just to make sure you boost their appetite and then you disinfect them, maybe you prevent them from sickness. But if you follow the right method, which is cleaning the water, making sure you don't have polluted, your water is not polluted. Okay. Then you will have like 10%, 90% free of disease breakouts. That way you don't have disease breakouts. You make sure you change the water frequently, you don't overfeed them to pollute the water, you give them space as I warned you and if you feed them with the right feed, good quality feed, then you won't have need for treatment or whatever. For someone that maybe has a job, maybe you work in nine to five. Yeah. So can you be a fish farmer and still run in nine to five? Yes, you can comfortably fish but you do a grout. Okay. So that when you say grout, you mean from what age? From juvenile sizes to one kg and above. Okay. So juveniles are how old? Juvenile are eight weeks, nine weeks, between eight to ten weeks. Okay. So you can get that and start feed them in the morning? All you need to do, first thing in the morning, by say six, seven, you've changed the water. By seven, thirty, eight, you feed them and they're off for work and then we get back from say five by six, you wait maybe six, seven, you feed them and that is it. Oh, that's very easy then. Yes, easy. So how often should you change their water? Depending on the quantity you stock, capacity of your pond, when you put it, if you put at the right space, you can change water two days, every two days. Every two days. Then you make sure you don't pollute the water by excess overfeeding. Because overfeeding too pollutes the water. Okay, so overfeeding is a problem. Yes, it's one of the factors. Okay. So you talked about fish farmers in Nigeria not being able to meet up the demand of fish farming. So someone who is starting a fish farm, there's always a market for him or her? There's always a market. Even within the, like within Cross River State, there's a market, enough market already. Okay. But what I see that's a bit of a problem is that the synergy, the linkage is where the challenge is. Okay. Because as a fresh farmer, which you are not associated, you are not linked to other farmers, you might not know where to go to showcase your products. Yeah. So I advise most of the farmers to come out, to find a means of identifying yourself with other farmers. So that way, one, you'll be able to be taught, you'll be able to understand other experience. Because if, for example, farmers within this locality come together and open a platform, say a platform, where they interact, there will be so many things, activity in that platform. One, sharing of knowledge, sharing of experience, sharing of ideas, and then customer relationship will exhibit. Because the moment an old person in that platform has finished selling, and then buyers are still coming, the tendency of the person spreading to other ones who doesn't have is there. So that way, you won't have challenge of keeping your fish and then looking for who to buy. Because what is happening now is a lot of persons just don't have fish. So much customers are at their neck. A lot of persons have fish, nobody to buy. So you see that linkage is where the challenge is. So they need to like come together. Yeah, there's a need for you to come. Even if you have 30 pieces of fish in your farm, identify yourself with other farmers. Yeah. So that way, what you do not know, you could, at least it will be easier for you to acclimatize. There's this misconception that a lot of people have in their head. A lot of people say things like farming is for poor people. Farming is for people that, maybe people in the villages, all those kind of stuff. What do you think about that? It's quite very funny because when it comes to fish farming, it's capital intensive. The greatest challenge farmers have is access to finance. So if a rich man who has a pond, it takes about, for example, it takes about 12 to 15 million to 18 million to actually raise a fish. 6,000 fishes. If you're looking at an area of hybrid, there's a species called hybrid. So those breeds take a few to nine months. Nine months? Yes, nine months. And it comes in up to like three kg to five kg sizes. So it takes between 15 to 18 million to achieve just that quantity of 6,000 to nine months. So which poor man can afford that? You talked about 500 pieces of fingerlings, of juvenile, I guess. And then it will take about 20 bags or 22 bags to rate them to a kg. And each of those bags cost about 20,000 to 22,000. So if you calculate 20,000 to 22,000 times 22 bags, you see that a poor man, because the average poor man cannot afford such amount. It's capital intensive, so it's not for poor. What's that one thing that you would say to someone who is thinking of going into farming? What's that one thing you would tell the person? Let's say for instance now, a young guy who wants to go into fish farming and is like having this kind of doubt that it might work out, it might not work out, all those kind of things in mind. Fish farming is more or less for, I would recommend farming for retirees or intending retirees. After getting your pension and gratuity, you invested in fish farming because at that time it will help you both physically as an elderly person who just can sit one place, walking around the farm, checking, feeding them, observing what is done, how it's done. It's a means of exercise for you. Then getting the money fixed in that is what I recommend for retirees. As for young persons, they could actually, if they have the finance, because like you said, good, the fish farming is not for poor. So except you have means of finance to support yourself, it's okay. But I would recommend every person who wants to do business to go into fish farming. So do you do trainings for people that want to learn? Do you do consultations? I do, I do. Presently I had three students who just graduated. Okay, how long is it? It's two weeks ago, two weeks ago. So I settled them with a thousand pieces of juvenile each, just like a support. You gave them 1,000 juveniles each? Yes, just like a support. So the class takes like how long? It took me three months, three months, because they followed through the theoretical aspect, the practical aspect. We do a production of one cycle, which took us to juvenile, 10 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, like I say. So they followed to that point. So what of someone that is outside Cross River? I can do that online. It's an online training, so that can be done too. Oh, okay. If you enjoyed this video, please would appreciate if you give us a like. Also subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on the notification bell to join our amazing family. And also click on the next video on the screen to watch another educating farming video. Thank you for watching once again. Do have a nice day and until next time. Bye bye.