The Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) has affirmed the availability of frozen catfish for local consumption.

The CAFAN National chairman, Mr. Sunday Onoja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that the reason for the introduction of frozen catfish is to curtail the excesses of unscrupulous middlemen who exploit local fish farmers.

According to him “Frozen Catfish is sold in Lagos state and it has come to stay. We celebrate the CAFAN Lagos state chapter for setting the ball rolling.

“It is a two-way action plan as we are trying to get fresh home-grown fish fully available on Nigerians' tables.

“The second reason for engaging in frozen catfish is to bring stability to the prices of fish and obliterate excessive exploitation of middlemen.

“The off-takers usually make local fish farmers sell below their production cost as they have no choice but to sell to avoid losses.

“If we do not take this step to add value to catfish by freezing them for sale, catfish farmers will continue to run at a loss,” he told NAN.

Onoja said adding value to catfish by introducing frozen catfish in large quantities will help boost the sustainability and growth of the sector.

In addition, he said, frozen catfish will help local farmers cut their losses and increase their productivity.

“We decided to look inwards by adding value to catfish by freezing them so as not to be at the mercy of middlemen who most times determine the price of the produce.

“I have close to 300,000 fish in my ponds ready for sale but in months I have not even sold up to 3 tonnes and I keep feeding them.

“So to cut losses, it is better to keep the fish frozen and sell at my convenience without suffering losses. Ice helps us cut losses and covers perishability. A kilo of imported iced sardine sells higher than local catfish because of value addition.

“When we bring a cluster of fish farmers like we do at CAFAN, pool our fish together, freeze them and sell, it will create more jobs, sustainability, and growth in the sector.

“We want to destroy the monopoly of the middlemen by introducing frozen catfish, as they have ripped off fish farmers for so many years,” Onoja said.