The Lagos State Government on Wednesday signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Dula Agro-Services Limited to establish the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence project, an aquaculture production and processing centre.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said the centre, upon inauguration, would produce 50 million fingerlings and 2,000 tons of table-sized fish per annum.

She added that the centre would also produce 20,000 tons of processed fish and 24,000 tons of fish feed per annum, saying it would use the latest technology.

The Commissioner also said the Centre was expected to generate no fewer than 5,000 smallholder fish farms which would, in turn, create about 1,000 indirect jobs during the construction phase and another 500 direct jobs.

“The annual fish demand in Lagos State is estimated at 374,000 tonnes, of which 174,553 tonnes is produced from both captured fisheries and aquaculture annually. Therefore the need to upscale fish production to bridge the shortfall between the demand and supply gap necessitated the obligation to engage in strategic partnerships with innovative companies that have expertise in agricultural based developmental projects such as aquaculture,“ Olusanya said.