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Innovative aquaculture practices implemented as part of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) are opening up new employment prospects for young Nigerians.

Several years after communities were trained in fish farming, integrated aquaculture and new methods of producing quality fingerlings, thousands of young people and families either joined fish farming or expanded their farms, thereby increasing their incomes and livelihoods.

Alahji Rilwan Monai, 40, is a resident of the village of Monai, on the outskirts of New Bussa in Niger State, Nigeria. He has been a fish farmer for some fifteen years. At the age of 25, he mainly fished off Lake Kainji. Fish farming was almost foreign to him at the time.

But things changed dramatically with the arrival of the PPAAO in 2008. Rilwan was one of the first beneficiaries of the program to introduce fish farming to the village of Monai. Like many others, they were taught fish farming techniques, including pond preparation and management, fry rearing and water management.

"I started with two ponds, but now I operate 13," he says confidently.

A ton of catfish sells in Nigeria for around N 750,000 ($2000).

"I have to be honest, it has increased my income considerably. It's thanks to this income that I've built my house, bought my cars and am now considering marrying a second wife," says Rilwan beaming.

For someone living in rural Nigeria, where the majority of the population lives on an average of $2 a day, this is significant. As a result, he sees no reason to envy his peers who live in the cities or travel abroad.

Most of Africa's rural youth are looking to move to the cities or abroad in search of white-collar jobs or greener pastures.

"It's never been my dream. I make enough money and have no intention of moving away from my community," says Rilwan.

There's more money in fish

Hafsat Oladele, 39, from New Bussa, runs both a cement factory and a fish farm. After years of managing both, she doesn't mince her words about which activities generate more income for her. "There's a lot more money in fish," she said unequivocally when asked to compare the two activities.

Oladele operates seven fish ponds, each averaging 1,000 catfish. When she harvests, she earns a substantial income to help support her family and herself.

When we spoke to the many young people in Monai village, many explained that aquaculture had become their main source of livelihood and employment. Almost every household in Monai now operates a fish pond, say the experts.

Exponential growth in aquaculture at Monai

When the PPAAO was introduced in Nigeria in 2008, the three main institutes that make up the National Aquaculture Specialization Centre chose a few villages to test new practices.

In New Bussa, the National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR) has launched a demonstration plot at Monai.

"When we came to engage with the village, the community leader wasn't too sure what we were trying to do. There were only a handful of fish farmers in Monai in 2008," recalls Dr Attahiru Mohammed Souley of NSPRI (the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute),

Today, almost all of the village's 5,000 inhabitants practice aquaculture.

As production increases, this could pose challenges for demand.

"There's a huge demand for what we produce," says 42 Alahji Rayyanu Ibrahim.

Ibrahim, another Monai resident now has a total of 12 ponds, including two for fingerlings. In 2018, Ibrahim harvested nearly 50 tons at N750,000 ($2000) each. That works out at around $100,000 a year.

Ibrahim's economic comfort has reached a point where, he says, he can't see himself doing anything but fish farming, despite some of the challenges they face.

"With my income, I can send my children to any school I want. I can afford to pay for my children's medicine and improve my family's standard of living," says Ibrahim.