In 2017, the French Development Agency (AFD) and Benin signed a financing agreement of six million FCFA as part of the implementation of the Support Project for the Development of Protein Sectors (PADEFIP). Significant investments have been made since then with real impacts on productivity. Séraphin Bokossa, “key fish farmer” and president of the association of fish farmers in the municipality of Covè, has benefited from the support of PADEFIP since 2021. This allowed him in such a short time to increase his production tenfold. In two years of support, he has achieved many feats and tells us about it in this interview.
What have you really gained thanks to the intervention of the AFD’s PADEFIP project in your activity?
The PADEFIP project and AFD came to work with us since we were there before them. They wanted to know how we work and I explained to them. They have a few acquaintances that they have promised to call on to help us work and improve our production practices. It was a promise but they kept it to our great satisfaction. They did us so much good and I can’t list them all here. We have known, discovered, learned and benefited from many things with them. They trained, coached and advised us on the methods to use to always keep our fish healthy, on how to feed our fish in the event of a situation like the Covid-19 crisis that has taken place in the meantime. for example without fear of rupture, shortage of feed. They showed us the plants and other important things that could help us locally to feed and take care of the fish well, they also taught us how to make comfortable and durable ponds, how to take care of ponds and fish ponds, etc. And for all this, we say a big thank you to them, thank you to AFD and the continental project PADEFIP 2.
Myself, Bokossa Séraphin, on my farm they carried out actions that I can never forget and that my grandsons will even be able to benefit from in the future. Not only have they helped me build consistent and lasting pools over time, but they are helping and encouraging me to work right now.
How many ponds do you currently have?
I currently use 8 large ponds of different sizes or volumes. All these ponds together will make 5340 m² of pond. As for the basins, which I had in addition to those resulting from the support of the PADEFIP project of the ADF in my farm, I am at 450 m³. This is the help they have given me personally and they never stop encouraging us to go far in production and this is why I want to tell them all our gratitude and my admiration.
Before the advent of PADEFIP, what were your production and distribution capacities and since PADEFIP, what has changed?
When there was no such project, me, in my fish farming, there are things that I missed, things that I couldn’t limit. I had a lot of loss of fish because, in order to multiply my production, I put enough in the basins so as to raise a lot of money but unfortunately many die afterwards. It is therefore the contribution of PADEFIP that allowed me to know the limit number of fish to put per m². Before PADEFIP, I didn’t sell too many fish, if it’s too much in 1 year, it’s 1 ton or 1 ton 200 kilos. But, since 2021 when they came to work with us, my production has gone from one ton to 10 tons today.
In terms of income, how much is it already?
Before PADEFIP, we were in the dark, we had no customers and it’s only our parents who abuse us here and take the kilo at 1500Fcfa. Today, we yield the kilo at 2200 and the ton, I yield it at 2 million 200 thousand nowadays.
We can convince ourselves that you are making a profit and that you are comfortable in fish farming. But many people, young people and others are still unemployed and ashamed to join or only have eyes for bureaucratic occupations…do you have a call to them, any advice?
On this question, I will tell you about my own experience. I myself was a carpenter and not a small one, I have my sawmill, I do the carpentry and a little formwork too. But seeing the profit and profit that I find in fish farming today, I started by neglecting carpentry to cling more to this field. But personally, I don’t know how to live in a vacuum or in autarky. Thus, there is not that one today in our association here in Covè to whom I did not confess that fish farming is very profitable. I even show them my account book. My young brothers who wander around now, all things considered, I call them lazy. Because, when you cling to something and you give it your all, you always have the little. There is indeed to be done and yet, we cry unemployment. Me, I make a good living in fish farming and those who do the same work know what I’m talking about. And if our young people who don’t know can hear me, they will tell me about it. Fish farming is profitable.
Directed by: Bidossessi WANOU
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