Ilesanmi Oluwaseun is a fish farmer in Epe Community in Lagos State, Nigeria. She has taken us to the cage at the lagoon where she and others in the community farm catfish and tilapia.

Ilesanmi is facing a number of challenges as follows;

• Security challenges: It can be difficult to monitor the fish cages in the community. She added that members of the community have been able to install CCTV cameras to help ameliorate the insecurities.
• High feed costs:Tilapia feed is expensive, and there are no affordable alternatives. Ilesanmi is calling for the government to subsidize fish feed, as fish farmers are also food providers for the nation.
• Poor drainage: The drainage in the lagoon is often clogged, which leads to dirty water and low oxygen levels. This can kill the fish. Ilesanmi is calling for the government to dredge the drainage and improve the water quality.
• Lack of government support:Ilesanmi is calling for the government to provide more support to fish farmers. This could include loans with low-interest rates and subsidies for feed and other inputs.

Ilesanmi’s story is a reminder of the challenges that fish farmers face in Nigeria. This is a plea from Ilesanmi for the government to support fish farmers by providing loans with low-interest rates, subsidizing the fish feeds and other inputs, and investing in infrastructure such as CCTV cameras and drenching, as this will help improve the livelihoods of fish farmers and enable them to provide more food and healthy proteins for the nation.

We cannot afford to ignore the challenges that fish farmers face. By supporting fish farmers, we can help build a more sustainable food system and ensure that everyone has access to nutritious food.