A wave of devastation has swept through fish farms in Lagos State, as over 50 catfish farmers have suffered losses estimated at more than ₦150 million following days of heavy downpour and flash flooding.
The Lagos State Catfish and Allied Farmers Association (LASCAFAN) described the incident as the worst flooding disaster in recent memory, leaving hundreds of fish ponds submerged and millions of naira worth of fish washed away.
Vice President and incoming President of the association, Mr. Olatoye Fajimi, who spoke in Lagos, lamented that the disaster struck silently overnight on Monday, giving farmers no chance to salvage their investments.
“It has been a very bad time for fish farmers, especially in Ikorodu and other low-lying areas. By the time farmers arrived at their ponds on Tuesday morning, most of the fish had been washed away into gutters, trenches and canals. The flood simply wiped everything out,” Fajimi said.
He explained that areas previously considered safe from flooding were not spared this time.
“We are talking about areas like Elepe, Mowe Kekere, Mowe Nla, Berger, Idiroko farm community, Maya, Lucky Fibre, Erikorodo, Igbe, Ibeshe and Ofin. It’s the same tragic story everywhere — flooded ponds, floating feed bags, dead fish and debts,” he added.
Fajimi disclosed that the association has been conducting an on-the-ground assessment with affected farmers and pegged the cumulative loss so far at over ₦150 million.
“Many of our members are indebted to cooperatives and microfinance banks. They took loans to buy fish feed, petrol for pumping machines and other inputs — all of which are now gone. There’s no hope of recovery without urgent government intervention,” he stressed.
According to him, some of the farmers are still struggling to pump out water from their ponds in the hope of recovering anything. However, efforts have yielded little success so far.
The association is calling on the Lagos State Government, federal authorities, non-governmental organisations, and private sector players to urgently provide support in the form of emergency relief and rehabilitation packages.
Among the recommendations made by the group are:
Consistent dredging of canals and drainages in flood-prone areas, particularly in Ikorodu.
Quarterly environmental clearance exercises to prevent future flash floods.
Provision of collapsible tarpaulin ponds to enable relocation to safer farming zones.
Emergency feed distribution and startup grants for affected farmers.
“What these farmers need right now is hope,” Fajimi concluded. “They’ve lost everything — their fish, their farms, and in many cases, their only means of survival.”
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