500 Farmers to Benefit From Fishing Loan

About 500 people are to benefit from fish farming loan in Zamfara State as the state government said it has completed all arrangements for the commencement of the program.

The state commissioner for agriculture, Alhaji Shuaibu Abdulsalam Magami said the state government has established a fish hatching bay in Gusau the state capital in preparation for mass production of fish in the state.

Alhaji Magami who was conducting newsmen round the fish hatching bay in Gusau said the state government has ordered for the fish parent stock that they are using to hatch from Warri in Delta state.

He said interested farmers will be given loan to embark on the mass production fish in the state depending on the size of pond and quantity of fish they would like to rear.

He said those that want to use small ponds of 2metres by 6 meters require the sum of N259, 000 while those that want to start with two of those ponds will require a loan of N533, 000 for the farming.

"All that an interested farmer requires to do is to apply for loan in a specified form to be obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. For a farmer to obtain a loan of N259,000 for small ponds, he is expected to deposit one quarter of the total loan amount which is N64,750.

"The farmer will then be given the loan and experts that will guide him. The construction of a 2 meters by 6 meters pond will cost him about N60, 000. The farmer will be required to purchase an over head tank for the storage of water at the sum of N20, 000. The pipes and the cost of connecting the over head tank to the pond is put at N20, 000," he said.

Alhaji Magami said the small pond is expected to contain 1,200 finger lings that will be purchased by the farmer from the state hatching bay at the sum of N20.00 for each finger ling.