Survey of Aquaculture Development Constraints in Sokoto State: A Farmer Perspective

Despite significant government investment in fisheries infrastructure, the growth of commercial aquaculture in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria, has remained constrained by persistent operational barriers that are poorly documented in the literature. This study surveys the constraints to aquaculture development from the perspective of 120 registered fish farmers across four Local Government Areas in Sokoto State using structured interviews and farm observations. Constraints evaluated spanned technical, financial, institutional, and environmental dimensions. Respondents ranked access to affordable quality fingerlings as the most limiting factor (87%), followed by the high cost of commercial feeds (79%), unreliable water supply (68%), and inadequate access to veterinary and extension services (61%). Climatic factors, particularly extreme heat reducing dissolved oxygen levels in open ponds during the dry season, were cited by 53% of respondents as a significant management challenge. Only 18% of farmers had benefited from any government aquaculture subsidy programme in the five years preceding the survey. Farm profitability was reported as positive by 64% of respondents, though margins were described as narrow and highly sensitive to feed price fluctuations. The study highlights a disconnect between government-stated aquaculture development priorities and the actual support reaching farmer level in Sokoto State. Priority recommendations include the establishment of a state-funded certified fingerling distribution network and the redesign of the Sokoto State Fisheries subsidy programme to reach smallholder operators more effectively.

Keywords: aquaculture constraints, fingerling supply, fish farming, farmer survey, Sokoto State