Jerome Ogu: Against All Odds!
As a product of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Jerome Ogu (2015, Agriculture) was equipped with the tools he needed to take his catfish farming business to new horizons.
Based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, jhonyx klassic Sec. limited contributes to the African agricultural sector by catfish breeding, smoke processing and dry processing of catfish for both local use and export.
In his immediate environment, Jerome identified a problem with the production of fish seeds due to the lack of stock in his region. His solutions include test kits for water quality, new nursery pond installations for fish and contracted middle agents who help with the acquisition and distribution of fingerlings to outsourcing farmers.
The growth of his business has also created a ripple effect in his community as it has helped him engage more personnel from his locality and to train farmers ranging from youths to retirees.
As with every business venture, Jerome has faced several challenges over the years in the running of his business. Last year, a flood took over his farm for over five months and this resulted in the loss of fish and vandalization of his property by thieves.
Rather than give up, he has faced these challenges head-on with commensurate tenacity to improve the working conditions of his farm. One of such ideas is the creation of a scientific processing catfish smoke and drying unit which is already in its early stages of construction. The processing unit is a valuable asset that conforms to international standards which can be used for a variety of purposes that include the drying of vegetables and other farm products.
Jerome is pleased to announce that his farm had been selected by the CBN anchor programme to assist fish farmers within his region crediting the Tony Elumelu Foundation as the major key to the success of his business so far.
“Thanks to the Tony Elumelu Foundation Programme for the training and seed capital that kept us pushing and overcoming hurdles of the economy of the country. T online training from the Tony Elumelu Foundation and mostly the seed capital is a driving force for my achievement so far.”
Jerome Ogu is one of the 1178 TEF alumni in African agricultural sector applying their learning from the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme: training, mentoring, seed capital funding and membership to the 4,650 strong TEF Alumni network to their businesses.
