Fish requires high quality nutritionally balanced diet for growth and attainment of market size within the shortest possible time. Therefore, local production of fish feed is very essential to the development and sustainability of aquaculture in Nigeria. Sustainable aquaculture can bridge the already existing wide gap between fish demand and supply. Hence, the vital role of locally produced fish feed in reducing production cost, thereby making fish farming sustainable and attractive to both private and commercial investors and eventually boost fish production cannot be overemphasized.
This research looks at the status of local fish feed mills in Akure metropolis in enhancing aquaculture development, and expansion in Akure metropolis and Nigeria as a whole. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study. Socioeconomic and Demographic characteristics of the respondents were analysed descriptively, Snowball method was used to locate the Fish Feeds Mills in Akure Metropolis. Results revealed that 69 percent of the respondents were male while 31percent were females; 61 percent were between the active age of 30 and 49 years; also, 70 percent had formal education. Currently, the status of Fish Feed Mill industry in Akure is experiencing low growth due to high cost of fish feed ingredients which constituting about 60 percent of the total cost of fish production. Other fundamental challenges observed in this study were: lack of funds to acquire the extruding machine to help produce locally floating feeds rather than sinking pellets; technical know-how on the part of the feed millers; poor nutritional value of the locally produced fish feeds; and provision of storage facilities to prevent spoilage of fish feeds.
The study also revealed that, amid the ten (10) feed mills visited in Akure Metropolis, none of the mills produces solely fish feed: only four (4) combined livestock and fish feeds while the remaining six (6) produces only livestock feeds. There was high concentration in the production of livestock feeds compared to Local Fish Feed production in Akure Metropolis. Hence, the need to depend more on imported fish feeds. The study therefore recommends, quick intervention from both the private and public sectors on the observed challenges impeding the development of fish feed mills in the Metropolis and the Nation at large.