By Sumaila Ogbaje, NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
The President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Oghogho Musa, has urged barracks women to make extra income for themselves through fish farming and other vocations.
Musa gave the advice at a One-Day Seminar on Fish Farming and Financial Literacy, organised by DEPOWA for barracks women on Tuesday in Abuja.
She said there was need for the women to have multiple streams of income by engaging in different vocations and maintaining high level of financial discipline.
Musa said that fish farming was not just a vital source of protein for millions of people worldwide but also a significant contributor to local economics and food security.
She said that there must be adoption of a holistic approach that combines sustainable practices, effective operation and financial intelligence to be able to thrive in the industry.
According to her, financial intelligence is the key to unlocking the full potential of fish farming by understanding the intricacies of financial management, risk moderation and investment opportunity.
“Therefore, this seminar offers a unique platform for knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration.
“I encourage you all to engage in thought provoking discussions, seek clarifications, ask questions and learn from each other experiences.
“The whole essence of this seminar is to empower you with the right knowledge and necessary tools that will enable you make informed decisions in your financial planning and management strategies for fish farming business.
“I am certain that this training will give a sense of direction and provide a means of livelihood or extra source of income to the participants,” she said.
The DEPOWA president expressed appreciation to the First Lady and Founder of Renew Hope Initiative, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for her motherly inspiration and continuous support.
She also thanked the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, for the support, encouragement and being the driving force of her mission and vision in DEPOWA.
A resource person and professional fish farmer, Mr Best Tomter, said the seminar was aimed at training the women on the value chains of fish farming, adding that they could start agricultural business with as low as N150,000.
Tomter said that fish farming was one of the easiest agricultural businesses that help them to begin to earn passive income.
He said the training would teach them how they could start fish farming without really going through the stress of setting up a fish farm.
“We want a fish farm estate where intending fish farmers or agricultural enthusiasts can come, buy a pond and can also start fish farming.
“We are trying to impact in the women here this morning how they can have multiple streams of income.
“Fish farming is very lucrative because, currently our fish consumption in Nigeria stands at 3.2 million metric tons per annum and then what our local production produces is just 1.2 million metric tons.
“So you can see that we have over 2.2 million metric tons deficit in fish production currently in Nigeria.
“So we need people to fill up that gap and there is market for fish farming,” he said. (NAN)