Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, bemoaned yesterday the difficult times that businesses are experiencing as a result of the high cost of diesel.
He claimed that the change has made enterprises impossible to run and that his fishing farm is feeling the effects.
The former president attributed the problem to the nation’s present authorities.
At a gathering of South-West farmers held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo made this statement (OOPL).
He warned that the rising cost of diesel and the steadily rising cost of fish food could eventually force fish farmers out of business.
He claims that the only way fish producers can remain in business is by banding together, especially to assure sustainable prices.
Farmers cannot longer depend on customers, who “would come around for whatever amount that suited them, without taking into account the effect of the current economic effect on the production of such fishes,” according to Obasanjo.
He further emphasized that a kilogram of fish now costs N1, 400 to produce due to the present price of diesel, which is above N800 per litre.
According to Obasanjo, the farmer cannot afford to sell for less than N1, 500 in order to avoid a “outright loss” and generate even a very small profit.
The ex-president lamented the hard times facing the industry, saying, “The price of diesel has gone high because the management of this country is not what it should be. And it is as simple as that.
“Then, what will happen is that particularly those of us who have to use a bit of diesel in producing fish, we will completely go bankrupt, and when that happens, Nigerians will still have to eat fish.
“Fish production will be out of reach, and then, people will be producing fish outside Nigeria and dumping it here. And you will go jobless, poor, and indigent. So, what do we have to do? To come together…we want to sustain fish production, and we must be able to take care of those who are going to eat, and those of us who are producing.”
Obasanjo asked the audience of farmers rhetorically, “How many of you use diesel in your production? As a result of my use of diesel, I’m already perspiring. I’m perspiring already.
Obasanjo submitted, “This is the essence of this gathering. We find out that we have to take our destiny into our hands. We can’t continue to produce and be at the mercy of the buyers. We felt we needed to come around and do something for ourselves. We are starting with the South-West, and in a matter of time, it will be all over the country.”
Amo Tunbosun Amo, president of the South-West Fish Farmers Price Sustainability Group, responded by stating that the nation now imports 2.6 million metric tonnes of fish each year to make up for the 3.6 million metric tonnes it eats annually.
Amo alluded to the difficult circumstances mentioned by Obasanjo when he said that one of the biggest problems facing fish farmers was the ongoing rise in the cost of feed and other inputs used in the production of fish, as well as the refusal of consumers to pay a price that was commensurate.
