Inventory of Aquaculture Infrastructure and Support Services in Nasarawa State

An accurate inventory of aquaculture production infrastructure and support services is a prerequisite for evidence-based planning of the fisheries sub-sector in any state. This study conducts a structured inventory of registered fish farms, hatcheries, feed depots, extension contacts, and government support services across eight Local Government Areas in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria. Data were collected through farm registration records obtained from the Nasarawa State Ministry of Agriculture, supplemented by field verification visits to 90 farms and interviews with 12 extension officers and 6 feed input suppliers. Results documented 214 registered fish farms, of which 157 were actively producing at the time of enumeration. Only four functional hatcheries were identified in the state, creating a severe bottleneck in fingerling supply. Feed depots were concentrated in Lafia and Keffi towns, leaving farmers in rural LGAs travelling more than 80 km for commercial feed supply. The ratio of extension officers to active farms was 1:26, exceeding the recommended ratio of 1:15. Government subsidy programmes had reached only 18% of registered farmers in the previous two years. The findings reveal significant infrastructure and service delivery gaps in Nasarawa State aquaculture support systems and provide a data-driven basis for the prioritisation of hatchery establishment, feed depot decentralisation, and extension officer recruitment in the state's next agricultural development plan cycle.

Keywords: aquaculture infrastructure, hatchery, extension services, farm inventory, Nasarawa State