37-year-old Hawawu Idris is one of the many fish sellers at the Patigi Central Market, located in the heart of Patigi town in Kwara State. Like many others, her fish enterprise is driven by the need to support her family and serve as a means of livelihood.
Fish sellers are the final point in the value chain of the fish market system. Fish are originally harvested from the River Niger by fishermen, who sell them to the women.
However, the fish market is unstable and often subject to many factors, including harvest costs, poor road networks, and market forces such as inflation.
“We normally buy the fish from the men by the riverside, after which we bring them to the market to sell. Fish is now expensive because of many factors, especially the high cost of petrol, which the fishermen use to power their boats for fishing expeditions,” Hawawu said.
While transportation of the fish to the market is another issue, the main challenge faced by fish sellers in Patigi is the lack of cold storage facilities.
According to Hawawu, the absence of storage facilities has increased post-harvest losses. As a result, fish sellers are forced to explore other preservation methods, most of which are unsuitable and unprofitable, ultimately impacting the local economy.
“There are no storage facilities at all in our community. Patigi is a riverine area, and one of the major economies around the river is fish selling. It’s unfortunate because there’s no way to preserve the fish. Anytime we fail to sell the fish during market hours, the losses are always massive,” she explained.
Hawawu mentioned that she typically records significant losses whenever she is unable to sell her fish in time, leading to spoilage. She added, “Sometimes, I lose between N10,000 to N20,000 daily.”
Aisha Muhammed, another fish seller, confirmed that spoilage is a major concern for sellers, severely affecting their businesses. While most fishermen suffer substantial losses as their catches spoil quickly without proper storage, others are forced to sell immediately, often at a loss, which leads to economic instability and undermines their prosperity.
“Due to the lack of proper storage facilities, we are often compelled to smoke our fish as a means of preservation. This process incurs extra costs, but it doesn’t guarantee a commensurate profit,” Aisha said.
Aisha further explained that the reliance on traditional smoking techniques, which involves purchasing firewood for preservation, often compromises the ability to maintain the quality and freshness of their products.
Globally, 37% of agricultural produce that requires refrigeration is lost due to inefficient or non-existent cold chains. In Nigeria, this inefficiency causes 93 million small farmers to lose 25% of their annual income.
Millions of Naira released for rehabilitation of cold room; project left undone
What could save the fish sellers in Patigi from their potential losses lies along the banks of the River Niger in Gbaradogi village: the federal government-owned fish storage facility, which could be described as an abandoned treasure. It is located in Gbaradogi, some two kilometers from the main town of Patigi.
In 2023, the federal government released over 40 million naira to Lebony Nigeria Limited through the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NBDA) to rehabilitate a cold storage facility in Patigi Local Government Area, Kwara State.
However, a visit to the facility in January 2024 revealed that all the fish storage equipment had worn out and outlived its usefulness. The facility remains abandoned and deteriorating, with no evidence of rehabilitation or accountability for the funds.
According to many locals, the facility was built during the Second Republic by the regime of the late President Shehu Shagari to enhance fish market activities.
The people of Gbaradogi are predominantly fishers and rice farmers. Speaking to The Informant247, a community leader, Muhammed Jiya, said that the facility has long been abandoned by the government.
Muhammed, who identified himself as a fishing officer with the Patigi local government and responsible for enforcing government regulations in the community, noted that the facility was once the jewel of the village.
“In the past, the facility worked very well and boosted the socio-economic activities of our village. Since it stopped working, successive governments have failed to revive it, and there are no other means to preserve our fish,” he remarked.
‘No rehabilitation work done’
He recalled that there had been many visits by government officials to the facility but with no tangible results. The most recent visit occurred around two years ago.
“Some government officials visited the facility in 2022 and said a new one had to be built, as the old one could not be revived due to its long-term disrepair,” he explained.
Although no rehabilitation was carried out on the facility, Muhammed said that the discussion about constructing a new facility and its location became a heated issue between the community representative and the visiting officials.
He further stated that it remains unclear whether a new fish storage facility was later constructed at another location.
When contacted for comment, Tukur Hashim, the Patigi Area Officer at the Aquatic Bio-Resources Development Centre, offshoot of the National Biotechnology Development Agency under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, told The Informant247 that the new storage facility currently under construction is a result of the government officials’ visit to the old facility last year.
“It was the recommendation of the panel that visited the old storage facility in Gbaradogi to build a new one. They believed the old facility could not be revived, and constructing a new one in the same location would expose it to the recurrent flooding issues that affect the village,” he said.
This report is produced with support from Civic Media Lab
