Impacts of Environmental Change on Fish Production in Egypt and Nigeria: Technical Characteristics and Practice

Abstract

AbstractA survey approach was applied to examine the technical characteristics of fish farming practice in Egypt and Nigeria. Critical issues such as floods and other vices were considered in bringing out the inference and level of aquaculture in both countries. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the study area and the number of respondents. Both primary and secondary data were used in the analysis. Eighty fish farmers were randomly selected from each of the country, making a total of 160 respondents. The socioeconomic characteristics revealed that aquaculture is an antique venture in Africa with Egypt taking the lead, i.e., 99% of the respondents practice in large-scales production of more than 11 Fadden/acre per, and 100% males depend mainly on agricultural drainage water for their earthen ponds. Ninety-eight percent cultured tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) which was believed to have originated from the Nile River. In terms of financial performance and partial economic analysis, tilapia production commands more sales in Egypt, while catfish (Clarias) production is seen as a promising venture in Nigeria. The fish farmers have various perceptions and reactions toward environmental changes factors such as cost of labor/manpower and inputs, poor water quality, and fish extension services, and climate change impedes aquaculture development in the countries. To achieve the scale of aquaculture expansion as observed in Asian and other developed part of the world, efforts should be geared toward continental and regional integration in order to encourage aquaculture practices in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. More so, government intervention and incentives should be paramount in Egypt to reduce the excessive exploitation of the private input suppliers.