Nigeria: Govt Secures $200m World Bank Funding to Boost Fish Production

What the report says

Nigeria’s federal government has secured a $200 million World Bank-backed financing package to support fish production through state governments, according to a report published by Vanguard and distributed by AllAfrica. The initiative is intended to reduce the country’s reliance on imported fish while strengthening domestic aquaculture and fisheries value chains.

Marine and Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola presented the plan at a high-level executive training in Abuja on an Aquaculture Investment Guide, an event organised by his ministry with the World Bank Group. He was represented by Prof. Busayo Fakinlede, the president’s senior special assistant on marine and blue economy. The financing is expected to be offered as concessional loans for state governments to develop commercially viable aquaculture projects and attract private-sector investment.

According to the ministry, states will be expected to identify priority value chains, assess opportunities and prepare bankable projects tied to measurable production targets. Oyetola said the goal is to move Nigeria toward greater self-sufficiency in fish and, eventually, possible exports, with state participation seen as central to that effort.

The ministry also said it plans to hold a stakeholders’ roundtable to discuss implementation. Fakinlede said national fish output has risen in recent years through government interventions, and cited steps such as a technical committee on fish production, digitised fish import licensing and new export-related measures. Separately, the report notes that the ministry has been promoting investment tools such as Fish City and Fish Terminal portfolios.