ECOWAS Trained Youths Secure Grant to Boost Fish Production in Anambra

By Praise Chinecherem

A group of youths under the Elite Cooperative Society Limited have secured a franchise contract to boost fish production in Anambra state and beyond.

The youths, trained under the ECOWAS-sponsored TAENPROWIZ Youth Training 1.0 in Table Fish Production Business would transit operations to a commercial fish production business under a structured, professional and technology-driven framework.

The contract was brokered between the Cooperative Society and the Franchisor, TeeMartins ICT Limited, by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Business Development Agency (FABDA) in Awka.

While President of Elite Cooperative Society, Mr. Chukwuma Onyekwe signed on behalf of the Franchisee, Mr. Cosmas Ezenwanne signed on behalf of the Franchisor.

Speaking during contract signing,
Coordinator, Taenprowiz Production Partnership Center, Emeka Iloghalu restated his group’s commitment to contribute to Anambra’s fish production targets, making it eligible for the franchise opportunity.

He said the franchise is expected to enable an Anambra table fish production group, the Elite Cooperative Society Limited, to use the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology to commercialize its production.

Iloghalu described the contract as major milestone in efforts to boost aquaculture production, create jobs for youths and strengthen food security through the innovative fish production business model.

According to him, while the initial ECOWAS-sponsored youth Training program focused solely on skills development and technical empowerment, without financial handouts, FABDA facilitated the formation of cooperatives by collaborating with the Ministry of Industry and the Director of Cooperatives to organize additional training on the Cooperative Movement and Formation.

He said, “Six Table Fish Production Co-operatives emerged from the training program, with Elite Cooperative becoming the first to sign the TAENPROWIZ Franchise Contract.

“This contract is to enable them to move into the professional fish production business using the TAENPROWIZ fish production business system and technology.

“They have positioned themselves to contribute meaningfully to the GDP of Anambra State through Table Fish production.

“The state, through FABDA, has outlined a three-step target for Table Fish Production in the state, beginning with a short-term goal of adding 51 million kilograms annually to achieve local self-sufficiency.”

While revealing that the agency’s mid-term target is to increase production to 675 million kilograms annually to support both demand for industrial raw materials and the export drive, Iloghalu explained that the longer-term goal is to position Anambra as the leading Fish producer in the ECOWAS region, with a target of at least 1.35 billion kilograms annually.

“This is not the conventional fish farming system. It is an all-encompassing system designed to transition participants into professional fish production. Following this signing, the cooperative will move into a prepared production facility,” he added.

Iloghalu was optimistic that the Anambra State Government’s youth empowerment initiative, the ‘One Youth Two Skills program’, would possibly provide some funding and other support to youths trained under the ECOWAS Taenprowiz Youth program who have formed cooperatives.

President of Elite Co-operative Society, Mr. Chukwuma Onyekwe, described the agreement as a major milestone for the cooperative’s members.

“It has not been easy since we started this journey, and we have faced several challenges. We believe the introduction of the TAENPROWIZ System and Technology will make the difference and help us achieve our vision of becoming a major contributor in the fish production business,” he said.

Also speaking, Managing Director of TeeMartins ICT Limited, Mr. Cosmas Ezenwanne, said the contract would enable the cooperative to deploy the high-precision TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System to improve efficiency and increase throughput.

“The idea is that they will use our system to run their fish production business with precision, improve efficiency, and increase throughput.

“This is a long-term program, and we look forward to more franchisees adopting this system to advance their production,” Ezenwanne said.