10 Proven Ways to Make Money From Catfish Farming

Catfish farming is a very lucrative Agricultural business. Catfish farming thrives on selling fish for its fish but surprisingly beyond its fish, there are other ways to make money from Catfish farming.

A table-size catfish of 1Kg costs N2000 and to an average fish farmer that’s all he can make from his fish farm. The secret of every business is only a secret if you don’t source for it. Innovation is the secret to wealth in every business.

Every businessman desires to make more profit. So the question to ask is: how can I make more money from catfish farming beyond the money I get from selling a table-size catfish? What else on this farm can generate money for me? Will they work?

In this article, we are going to be exploring proven ways to make money from catfish farming, read till the end.

Proven Ways to Make Money From Catfish Farming

These are the ways a catfish farmer can make money outside the fish (meat). They have been proven by research and have been attested by catfish farmers to be lucrative.

1. Hatchery

A hatchery is a place on a fish farm where fingerlings are being hatched. One proven way to make money from catfish farming is by making a hatchery.

Fish farmers are advised all over the world to farm catfish from fingerlings or juvenile stages. Therefore this being so, it will be lucrative to be able to hatch catfish and sell them. Fingerlings can be sold. A week-old fingerling can be sold for N30-N50.

At a goal over 100 fingerlings can be hatched from a hatching process. The encouraging part of this means of making money from catfish farming is that it is cheap to operate. All you need is a string, hormone enhancer, salt water solution, a spawning net, and some plastic bowls.
Also read: How to hatch a catfish successfully

2. Broodstocks

Among the mature catfishes, some are capable of beings ways to make more money, they are called broodstocks.
Broodstocks are mature catfish that can be used to hatch catfish. Their genitals are normally reddish. Not all mature catfish are broodstocks so selling a broodstock will be a lucrative way to make money from catfish farming.
A single broodstock of 1.5kg is sold for N3000, being more costly than a normal mature catfish of that same size.

3. Fish meal

Fish meal is a proven way to make money from fish farming. A 999 prime quality fish meal of 50kg costs N85,00. Knowing this the question on every mind will be how do I make a fish meal?

Fish meal is different from the fish feed. Fish meal is a commercial product created from full wild-caught fish, bycatch, and fish by-products(like bones) to feed farm animals, e.g poultry, pig, and farmed fish. Fishmeal come in powder or cake forms. This form is attained by drying the fish or fish trimmings and then crushing them.

Before 1910, fish meal was mainly used as fertilizer, at least in the United Kingdom. As of 2010, about 56% of fish meal was utilized to feed farmed fish, roughly 20% was used in pig feed, around 12% in poultry feed, and approximately 12% for other uses, which encompassed fertilizer.
Fish meal is one of the proven ways to make money from catfish farming.

4. Processing and Packaging Fish

In Nigeria, it is very rare to eat a delicious soup without seeing at least a piece of catfish in it. Likes of the bitter-leaf soup of the southeast, the edikaekong of the South-south, the Banga soup of the north-central, the efo riro of the southwest, and the miyar ganyen rogo of northern Nigeria cannot be made into its delightful form if catfish is missing among its ingredients.

Smoked fish is processed fish. Hardly will you see a refrigerator in Nigeria without smoked fish or a kitchen without stock fish.
Beyond selling fresh fish, you can make more money by processing the catfish and packaging it by yourself. Make a local oven, and use it to smoke fish. A fish that will normally be sold for N2000 when fresh, can be sold for over N3000. A thousand naira gain for just processing and packaging the catfish.

Yes, the market is saturated you say but the demand is still far more than the supply, so solve this need and gain more money.

5. Consultancy

There are many beginners in this race and not everyone has the knowledge you have. Some don’t have the experience while some lack knowledge of catfish farming. You can make money from catfish farming by being a consultant.

All you need is a phone number, a social media account, and the right advertisement. A beginner in catfish farming will need to know something and you can supply him with knowledge and he will pay you for the knowledge. And every beginner in catfish farming prefers an experienced hand over the internet.

A farm consultant in Nigeria can get paid over N1500 for knowledge depending on the nature of the information.
There are two kinds of consultants.
Offering consulting services on starting a catfish farm
Offering consulting services on operating the farm

6. Farm Agent

Another way to make money from catfish farming is by offering Agent services. A farm agent is a person who connects catfish farmers to customers.

A farm agent must not be a catfish farmer, anyone with a mobile phone, contacts, and with little or no knowledge of marketing can be a farm agent.

Social media has made this work easier, from the comfort of your room, you can connect fish farmers to thousands of women and chefs who cook with only one post.

How will I make my money by being a farm agent?

Look, when advertising the catfish, don’t write the exact cost. Add a little agency fee to the price that you will be telling the person.

Inform the farmer that your fee was included and there you have your money just from connecting fish farmers to customers.

7. Fish oil

Catfish can be used to produce viscera oil. This is one of the ways to make money from catfish farming. Catfish viscera oil is beneficial because of its rich omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids which help strengthen the heart and vascular health in humans. Catfish viscera oil is a very good alternative to cod liver oil. It is gotten from the fat found inside the catfish.

It is popularly known as omega-3 oil. It is used by pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and is highly recommended for babies, people with heart, and aged people.

A bottle of a well-made Omega Oil (Catfish Viscera Oil) cost N7000 now. And you are likely to produce a bottle and more from a mature catfish. And surprisingly the process of production is not stressful.

8. Selling Fish Feeds and Equipment

Among the ways to make money from catfish farming is Selling Fish Feeds and Equipment. On your farm fence, you can build a store (shop) on it. Apply to be a feed distributor and buy wholesale.

Also, import or buy locally made fish equipment in bulk and stock up in the shop. The reason for the emphasis on buying in bulk is because it cuts costs and gives more chances of making a high profit.
Also read: 7 types of fish feeds in Nigeria

9. Organize Workshops and Seminars

Beyond the amazing ways to make money from catfish farming above, you can make money on your catfish farm in a stress-free way. All you will need will be flyers and some publicity and the rest is up to your knowledge.

There was a time in my church, there was an announcement of a seminar on how to farm catfish and the registration fee was N2000 and the certificate will cost N5000 at the end of the seminar. And the turn-up was massive. So you can make money from catfish farming by organizing Seminars on Fish farming and product production.

Take, for instance, you organize a workshop on How To Make Omega-3 Oil. All you need is to make flyers, do some publicity and maybe hire chairs if it’s not an online workshop. With little investment like N7000 for both printing of flyers and hiring of chairs (or hosting on zoom or skype), you can make over a hundred thousand in one workshop.

10. Create E-courses

The internet has provided an additional source of income for all types of businesses and the catfish business is not left out. You’ve started, you’ve experienced hardship, you’ve attained success, it’s time you share your knowledge with aspiring catfish farmers or those that have started but experiencing a hard time. The easiest way to share this experience is to create free e-courses that people from all parts of the world can access.

Conclusion

Now you have it, aside from selling table-sized catfish from your farm, there are many other proven ways to make money from catfish farming. Ranging from hatchery to Consultancy and even organizing Workshops and seminars with others.

Be creative today with this information and make more money. To stay updated with our posts, subscribe and pin our website to your browser (eucarlagro.com).