State promotes fish farming to boost food security
John Njagi
The (Kenyan) government is shifting focus to fish farming to increase food security and boost earnings.
With dwindling fish stocks in lakes and other water bodies, the country is seeking to boost production from 4,220 metric tonnes to 11 million tonnes, with a potential of earning the country Sh750 billion from the domestic and export markets.
The government is also in the process of rolling out an initiative to construct at least 200 fish ponds in 140 constituencies that are endowed with water resources such as rivers.
Speaking during the recent launch of the Aguthi Fisheries self help group, in Nyeri, Fisheries Development ministry Permanent Secretary, Prof Micheni Ntiba, said there was a shortage of fish in the world market and urged farmers to take advantage of the opportunity.
"There is high demand for fish as most people have discovered its nutritional value," he said. But even as the government gears up to roll out the plan, coffee farmers in Tetu are abandoning their plantations in favour of fish ponds.
After watching their earnings from coffee fall drastically, they have set up a fish farming group that has pooled resources to construct three fish ponds on a one-acre wetland owned by the Nyeri County Council at Aguthi.
And looking at the economic prospects that result from fishing, the farmers have every reason to diversify earnings from coffee production or abandon it all together for greener pastures.
Whereas a kilo of coffee earns a farmer Sh10, a kilo of fish fetches up to Sh450. Retired civil servant Henry Wahome is one of the farmers who have joined the fish farming group to diversify his sources of income.
Demand for fish is also high in the region as most households are better enlightened on the benefits of eating fish as compared to other sources of meat with high cholesterol.
Mr Wahome is a member of the Aguthi Fisheries self help group project, with 360 farmers who have pooled resources to construct three fish ponds with over 4,000 fish.
With Sh500 minimum fee per farmer and a maximum of Sh50,000 worth of shares, the farmers have been able to pool resources to get the project rolling. The government is also spearheading the drive to popularise fish farming as a source of food and income.
Prof Ntiba said fish stocks in lakes and other large water bodies worldwide were dwindling.
Growing fish in ponds has the potential of increasing the country's fish production from the current 4,220 metric tonnes to 11 million tonnes.
The low production in East African lakes has been occasioned by falling water levels brought about by wanton destruction of water catchment areas and climate change.
The war over receding fish stocks in Lake Victoria came in the open recently with Uganda and Kenya fighting over Migingo Island, a one acre rock that is believed to hold most of the fish in the lake.
Wealth creationThe dispute over Migingo is yet to be resolved. Prof Ntiba said that by using the country's rivers, streams and harvesting rain water, the amount of land under aquaculture would increase significantly from 722 hectares to 1.4 million hectares.
He said the ministry was in the process of implementing the National Oceans and Fisheries policy, launched in April, to develop fish farming.
"We are looking up to aquaculture to not only reduce fishing pressure on our oceans, lakes and rivers, but also enhance food security, employment and wealth creation, as well as healthy living," said the PS.
Should the country achieve that potential, fish would earn Kenya Sh750 billion. Constituencies that border the Indian Ocean would also receive a Sh4.6 billion stimulus to carry out fish farming in the sea.
Prof Ntiba said the new initiatives were geared towards boosting aquaculture. He said the achievement would place the country in a better position to take advantage of an enormous fish market in Europe, Asia, North America as well as the domestic and African markets.
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