The future of tilapia culture in Nigeria

The culture of tilapia is assuming a greater importance globally. However, Nigeria's contribution to global production is insignificant. Although Egypt and Nigeria were the only African countries that had record of tilapia production in 1950, Egypt has left Nigeria far behind. The problem of prolific breeding still persists in our farm, making it difficult to raise tilapia to a good market size. The paper reviews Nigeria fish production, supply and demand forces and the contributions of leading tilapia producers; namely China, Thailand, Indonesia Egypt to mention a few. It reiterates some of the credentials of tilapia that makes it a good candidate for culture, the species for culture and the place of tilapia in the world fish market. The paper examines some of the limiting factor hindering the development of tilapia Industry and ways of mitigating such factors.