Catfish farmers in the Eriwe Farm Village cluster in Ogun State are pressing the Federal Government to transfer operational control of a newly completed but idle fish processing centre to producer cooperatives, arguing that farmer-led management would unlock value across Nigeria’s aquaculture supply chain.
The appeal underscores a recurring challenge in Nigeria’s agricultural infrastructure development: underutilised public assets amid rising production capacity in key food sectors. The Eriwe cluster, one of the country’s more established aquaculture hubs, produces more than 2,000 metric tons of catfish annually, with an estimated market value exceeding ₦50 billion. Yet farmers say a significant share of that value is eroded through post-harvest inefficiencies.
Without adequate cold-chain systems and local processing capacity, fresh fish is often sold quickly at lower margins or lost entirely due to spoilage. Farmers argue that the dormant processing facility could address this gap by enabling smoking, drying, packaging, and storage at scale, extending shelf life and improving access to higher-value markets.
“We can do more if we control this centre ourselves,” said a spokesperson for the group. “It will boost production, save our harvest, and put more Nigerians to work.”Their proposal reflects a broader shift within Nigeria’s agribusiness sector, where producer cooperatives are increasingly advocating for direct participation in infrastructure management. Industry stakeholders say such models could reduce dependence on intermediaries, improve pricing efficiency, and strengthen rural employment.
Economists note that the issue also highlights a structural bottleneck in Nigeria’s fisheries value chain: limited processing capacity relative to output growth. While production clusters like Eriwe continue to expand, downstream infrastructure has not kept pace, constraining competitiveness and export potential.
The Federal Government has yet to issue a formal response to the request. However, policy analysts suggest the situation could reopen debate over public-private partnerships in agricultural infrastructure, particularly in cases where state-built facilities remain inactive.
For Eriwe farmers, the argument is pragmatic rather than political. They contend that operational control is not only about ownership, but about efficiency turning sunk public investment into productive capacity and reducing the costly leakages that continue to weigh on Nigeria’s food production system.
As aquaculture demand rises domestically, the outcome of the request may help define how Nigeria balances infrastructure provision with on-the-ground management in its growing blue economy.
