Chapter 1:
■ LET'S CHARGE OURSELVES UP!
Africans it's high time we go back to the basics, it's high time we go back to what we know how to do best. We can't keep enriching the pockets of the already developed nations, let's strive to developed our own soil. Let's not wait for what the government has to offer, but keep striving to improved our daily standard of living by adding our own quota.
What do we need to survive?
Critically, humanity needs agriculture as the pillar of all functions. Agriculture provides food, raw materials and herbs which are the essence of life.
Everybody needs food, the rich and poor eats food for survival. Without food, no work can be done. Food brings hopes and aspirations to the mind, it lifts the soul of the weary and energise the body of weak.
Herbs ensure good health care, it is the basics of drugs and vaccines for treating humans. It is evident that everybody needs medical attention, hence! herbs and medicine is necessary for human well being and care.
Aqua and agro-products provides raw materials for industrial use, fish oil is useful in the production of cod liver oil, cocoa is useful in beverages company, cassava is useful in bread and garri factory, to mention but a few, all these agro and aqua-products are useful in our day to day life activities.
The statement "Life is not a bed of roses" is accepted to only who don't just wait unto the Lord but takes calculated risks and accepts failure as a correctional tool. The Universe has been designed to satisfy our daily needs, he who works will never go wanted, therefore the more you work, the more you earn. The term "work" in this context is measured by the ability to use the brain judiciously in relation with time and effort. The value of your "brainwork" in real sense is the impact of your work to your generation which may be amounts to gratitude in money, fame and accolades.
Going to school only gives you the info to be successful in your chosen career, which in real sense outlined the popular quote; "Education is the bedrock of success". Education is not the platform, success in careers only comes from the active use of knowledge and ideas gathered through education and the active application of these in real life gives the desired results.
☆☆Do not live by the book, make it real by taken reasonable actions☆☆.
Education can be gotten through several platform, few of these are; academic, apprenticeship, personal tutor and research, which explains Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg success story in ICT as both are Havard drop out.
☆☆All ventures are worthy of sacrifices in effort, time and money; but persistency keeps you on the move☆☆.
Let's narrow this discussion to Fish Farming as we move to chapter two.
Chapter 2:
■LET'S GET INFORMED!
Fishes are categorised into two; shell and fin fishes. The former are fish with shell and they include crabs, prawns, lobsters, shrimps e.t.c. Fin fishes are broadly classified as scale and naked fish with fin on their pelvic, pectoral and caudal region. Not all fin fish are culturable, most species are culturable in their natural environments i.e. fresh, brackish and marine water bodies; while few are culturable in an enclosed or indoor environments.
Commercial methods of culturing fish can be broadly classified into: Mariculture and Aquaculture. Harvesting and capture of fish in the wild is regarded as Fisheries, which are further divided into Artisanal and Industrial Fishing.
Aquaculture is the branch involving the whole spectrum of fish products. But Mariculture pertains to a branch of aquaculture.
•Aquaculture: is the rearing of fish and other aquatic organisms in a controlled environment. Aquaculture for freshwater culturable species has been popularised in Nigeria, in exception to industrial culture of some marine species. There are different species of culturable fish in Nigeria water bodies, common species includes Tilapia, Catfish, Arowanas as not all culturable species are commercially important. Likewise not all freshwater fishes can be breed out of their natural environment.
Another important factor is knowledge of the field one is vesting into, truly they say knowledge is power but the power of knowledge is which that is derived from its application. In a nutshell knowledge has no power except that which is gained from its application.
The only way one can succeed in life is not only by jumping unto the bus to do what others are doing, but by going extra mile to bring the virtual part of life into reality. In other word 'thinking out of the box' makes one superbs in his/her endeavours, this gives an edge over other competitors.
Fish farming venture has gone beyond doing it as an alternative way to making ends meet. It needs a complete devotion and alot of commitment to succeed amongst the midst of other competitors, the utmost key to survival is the availability of enormous knowledge and ideas which is within the reach of the enterpreneurs.
Fish farming requires substantial capital, reliable and adequate information on the market and various areas of production in order for business stability and consistent profit maximization. To achieve these, the prospective fish farmers must endure to embark on a thorough "Project Life-Cycles" study through a certified and experienced Aqua Project Manager Personnel. The project life-cycles included:
♥ Feasibility - project formulation, feasibility studies, strategy design and approval. A go/no-go decision is made at the end of this phase.
♥ Planning and Design - base design, cost and schedule, terms and conditions, environmental impact assessment, and detailed planning. Major sub-contracts are let at the end of this phase.
♥ Construction - manufacturing (ponds, tanks, hatchery house, staff quarters, road), delivery, civil works, installation and testing. The facility is substantially complete at the of this phase.
♥ Turnover and Start-up - final testing and maintenance. The facility is in full operation at the end of this phase.
♥♥ Guide: PMBok 2000 edition.
The popularity of fish farming has gone viral on the Internet and the basis for each stage of production has been detailed in books and many audio-visual platforms.
It is evident that theoretical ideas is not enough, as fish farming tends not to have a strict rules in terms of commercial production and marketing strategies.
From experience, it is not enough to bank upon a book or a proceedings gathered at a seminar as what is applicable to Farm A may not be applicable to Farm B or C. However, it is advisable to read as many books as possible i.e. books that are written by scholars of fish farmers in your locality, and attends practical session on the specific area of interest.
Information gathered from books helps broaden your scope and ideas, while hands on practical gives you a total or partial insight on the basic fundamental rules to a successful fish farming. Hands on practical also enable the familiarity with the basic application of materials and steps involved in the successful venture of the business.
Fish farming requires full attention, energy, vitality, and ardent passion. It involves taking calculated risk; The fear of risk diminishes with improved knowledge, and knowledge dispels fear. Abib Olamitoye. In talking about risk, Ear Nightingale said: Where there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two are inseparable, they go together and what you see is what you get.
All business involves risks, the three keys to successful fish farming is desire, decision and determination which goes well along with passion, skills and capital to actualize business stability and continual profit maximization.
Effective fish production and marketing requires adequate knowledge of the marketing mix which includes price, product, promotion, place. Marketing is simplistically defined as ‘putting the right product in the right place, at the right price, at the right time. Though, the use of a marketing mix is an excellent way to help ensure that ‘putting the right product in the right place,…’ will happen. The marketing mix is a crucial tool to help understand what the product or service can offer and how to plan for a successful product offering .
Prospective fish farmers should ensure to undergo a thorough survey on the following:
♥ Product: this is either a tangible good or an intangible service that is seem to meet a specific customer need or demand. This is regarded as the fish products such as live fresh, smoked, e.t.c.
♥ Price: covers the actual amount the end user is expected to pay for a product. How a product is priced will directly affect how it sells. This is linked to what the perceived value of the product is to the customer rather than an objective costing of the product on offer.
♥ Promotion: the marketing communication, strategies and techniques. As part of the marketing mix; promotion includes all activities that involve communicating such as advertisement with the customer about the product and its benefits and feature.
♥ Place: place or placement has to do
with how the product will be provided to the customer. Distribution is a key element of placement. The placement strategy will help assess what channel is the most suited to a product.
♥♥ Guide: Cleverism: 4 P's of Marketing Mix
■ LET'S GET STARTED!
What do you want to do?
There a lot of potentials attached to fish farming, you do not necessarily have to own a fish farm before you can joined the team. You do not necessarily have to owned millions before you can do something. There are other fields that you can fit in perfectly, these other areas will be discussed fully in the next episode.
But here are some important questions to ask before embarking on Catfish farming business in Nigeria:
♥ How much capital can I afford to start the business? (Capital would determine your starting scale – Small Scale or Large Scale.)
♥ How many Catfish farmers are in my vicinity? (Knowing this would inevitably help you attach yourself for practical training, if you want, and would also help you determine the competition in your farm area.)
♥ What is the demand for Catfish in my area? Public acceptability must be put in consideration: besides demand is not equal everywhere.
♥ Can I have the time to oversee the farm or do I need to employ a fish farmer? (You need to know for proper budgeting.)
♥ What is Catfish farming’s ROI (Return on Investment.)
These questions must be answered in good faith to help you get started.
As a newbie you must have in mind to have a strong persuasive character towards your new line of business.
Etiquette Of A Fish Farmer:
Fish farming is all about: Passion, Ideas and Capital.
♥ The Passion - keeps you going even when it seems you are going all wrong. As a beginner, you will definitely have some shortcomings. At first do it for love, start small by rearing your fish as a pet before venturing into larger scale. This will give you insight on fish behaviours as well as how the fish relates with its aquatic environment, foods and environmental pollution.
♥ The Ideas - keeps you well informed. To survived in the biz you must get wide ideas and experience, visit nearby farms, meet experts, and consults the professionals. If possible make a quick market survey, to know about price of fresh and smoked fish of all size.
♥ Capital - is the main thing, the source must be constant and adequate. Fish farming is not for the 'micer', the more you spend, the more you maximize profit. But in some situations, the less you spend the more u marginalized profit with other competitors. But this is with a great skills and ideas, by improvising a lot of things and cutting cost by venturing into un-convectional natural foods.
In leiu of these - the more ideas, innovative, and innitiatives, the less you spend and the more you maximize profit and vice versa.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Here is a video clip on small scale catfish farming; pls download and share.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_
fbid=1334920729953917&id=810640255715303
Regards! Thanks for reading.
°°TO BE CONTINUED°°
1 comment:
You are doing a good job sir, keep it up!
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