Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research

NIOMR to empower 50 graduates in fish production

The Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research has announced plans to train and empower 50 unemployed graduates in fish production.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training of unemployed graduates, youths and women in aquaculture production, fish processing and value addition, in Lagos, the Executive Director, NIOMR, Dr. Gbolahan Akande, said starter packs would be distributed to the trainees at the end of the five-day programme.

According to Akande, the starter packs will contain 15 bags of fish feed, medication and equipment such as plastic tanks containing 500 juvenile cat fish, smoking kits, 25kg of fish and charcoal.

He stated that the trainees were selected across the country and were given N25,000 each as transport allowance, adding that throughout the period they would spend in training, N2,500 would be given to each of them daily for feeding.

Akande said the training was funded by senators and members of the House of Representatives, with each selecting graduates to be trained from their respective constituencies.

He stated that the objective of the training was to create employers of labour who would contribute to the security and growth of the country.

According to him, the trainees would be awarded certificates at the end of the programme, which they could use to source for funds from the Bank of Agriculture and the Bank of Industry.

He added that after the training and empowerment, a monitoring and evaluation team would follow up on the trainees to ensure that they were practising and creating value from the knowledge they had gained.

Speaking at the event, the Director, Aquaculture and Research, NIOMR, Dr. Patricia Anyanwu, urged the trainees to be ambassadors for development of aquaculture in Nigeria.

Anyanwu said the focus of the training was to place emphasis on value addition in all the processes of aquaculture.

She said the target of the institute was to train a total of 150 graduates in the first quarter of this year.

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