The majority of people in the Niger Delta area of the country are farmers. They practise farming for both family consumption and commercial purposes. Being in the riverine area, fish farming is predominantly the major aspect of farming they are into.
These people, mostly women, involve in this type of farming to earn their living and pay for their children educational. Before the final output of the fish for commercial scale, a number of demanding processes might have been undergone, among which is fish smoking through oven.
This locally made oven takes a lot of time to smoke fish and it is expensive to use. Looking at these women in the local areas, the amount of money spent on firewood is on the high side, thereby constituting a huge challenge in the business. Also, the level of smoke coming out from the oven is dangerous to health.
Disturbed by these and many other problems encountered by women in the business, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a non-profit organisation, comes to aid in the area of fish smoking.
As part of its mandate in building partnership and equitable development in the Niger Delta, PIND Foundation introduced technology-driven Chorkor Oven and Smoking Kiln in fish processing for women in the riverine communities. This, the foundation said would enhance efficiency, productivity and impacts.
A visit by BDSUNDAY to Awoye, a riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State confirmed the usage of this new method of fish smoking by the farmers as provided by PIND Foundation. Our correspondent travelled for an hour on water ways from Ugbo land to Awoye community in the local government area.
Speaking on the usage, a farmer in the community, Ajosanmi Ebinuyi commended PIND for the new initiative, adding that her business of fish smoking had improved with the new innovation.
Ebinuyi, 48, and a mother of two, explained that she spent as much as thirty thousand naira (N30,000) on firewood using the former oven. According to her, the new innovation in fish smoking has brought more economic viability to the business.
“I have been in the business of fish smoking for 10 years and I can say that this new oven has brought more life into this our business. As you know, this is the only business we do here in the riverine communities.
“Unlike before that it used to take over an hour to smoke fish, we don’t use even up to 20 minutes to smoke fish. Besides, Chorkor oven and smoking kiln is affordable in terms of the money spent in procuring firewood. Before now, we used like N30,000 worth firewood but now hardly we use up to N10,000 worth.
“Don’t forget this is more convenient and spacious which can take far more fish at a time than what we use in the past. In all, this new method is efficient and economically advantageous,” she said.
Conducting our correspondent round the processes in her kitchen, she noted that smoke always gave them hectic time using the former oven, adding “we can’t stay here in the kitchen when we have fish on the oven because everywhere will be covered with smoke, which you know is dangerous to health, but we can’t leave here; we still have to look after the fish in spite of the disturbing smoke.”
Another farmer in the fish smoking business, Omowumi Omoyele revealed that she has been using the new oven in the last two years which she said has contributed in no small measure to her fish business. She said that the Chorkor and smoking kiln could take four times more of fish compared to the former oven.
The 26-year old Omoyele said: “This new oven does not waste much of firewood compared to the one I used to use. It is faster and it takes just 6 minutes to smoke fish.
They urged government and other stakeholders to support them with enough capital towards advancing their fish smoking business.
Speaking on the new development, Bose Eitokpah, PIND Capacity Building Program manager, said the foundation was poised to empower women in the Niger Delta to have a positive mind-set irrespective of problems faced.
Eitokpah, who spoke in Akure, the Ondo State capital, during an event marking this year’s International Women’s Day, noted that women were potent factor in driving change in the society, saying women must be introduced to technology in agriculture that would enhance their efficiency and productivity.
“To innovate for change means understanding inconveniences, learn from successes and failures, process and act on lessons that call for improvement and work to convert such strengths.”
She recounted that “we saw this happen in the case of the introduction of Chorkor oven, where centrally located models of the oven did not work for women in the riverine communities, who would rather own and operate individual fish processing ovens within the households. We learnt our lesson, understood the challenges and converted the knowledge into promoting individually owned Chorkor oven. Now, over 150 Chorkor ovens are in use in the riverine communities of the Niger Delta. We are concern with women in the Niger Delta because the majority of them are into fish smoking.
“Accessing fund is a vital issue in those things women do and what we have done is to help women increase their awareness on how to access fund. We are also looking at how they can add value to their agricultural produce.
On his part, the Chairman of Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Gbenga Edema, alongside other state government representatives, lauded PIND for the Chorkor oven and smoking kiln.
Edema said the special interventions of PIND in the five agricultural value chains, aquaculture, cassava, cocoa, palm oil and poultry have yielded much impact on employment, profitability and peace in the state.
He assured that the state government would continue to partner the organisation for more sustainable development across the 18 local government areas of the state, especially the Niger Delta councils.
YOMI AYELESO, Akure
