Kirinyaga fish farmers upbeat as harvesting season starts

Kirinyaga farmers who were funded by the county government to undertake fish farming have started harvesting their first produce.

This comes in the wake of rising consumer demand for fish in Mt Kenya region that saw the farmers fetch huge profits.

Fish farming and consumption, a practice considered a preserve for communities around the Lake Victoria basin and the Coast region, is gradually being embraced in Mt Kenya pushing the demand.

Governor Anne Waiguru supported select self-help groups in the construction of fish ponds and fingerling stockings to start the venture.

The farmers were also given free fish feeds for seven months.

Two of the groups harvested their fish on Tuesday and the catch was sold out immediately.

Twenty community groups were selected after applying for funding from the county government.

The governor said the fish farming project is one of the components of the Wezesha Kirinyaga Economic programme that has been supporting farmers to diversify their agricultural activities to increase revenue streams.

Waiguru said though Kirinyaga is known for cash crops such as tea, coffee and rice, fish rearing is a new stream for farmers to diversify their income.

“The project was also informed by the huge deficit of fish which makes Kenya import fish since lakes fishing cannot sustain the demand. As such half of all the fish produced in Kenya comes from aquaculture while the other half comes from ocean and lake,” the governor said.

The beneficiaries have testified that integrating fish farming has turned out to be a game changer in their farming.

“We are very happy that our fish is now mature and we have started making sales and getting some for our families to consume.” Caroline Wambui, a member of  The Great Star Youth Group from Gichugu constituency said.

She said that her youth group is very grateful to Governor Waiguru for initiating the programme which she noted was going to empower the youth.

Wambui said they were given free fish pond liners and feeds enough to nurture the fish to maturity.

Elija Karari, chairman of Kiamurugu Tissue Bananas Group said the 25-member group benefited from 1,600 fingerlings which they are currently harvesting and selling.

He said once they have sold the current harvest, they will use the proceeds to restock their fish pond and buy fish feeds to sustain the project.

Karari said fish farming compared to other farm activities is less time-consuming and production cost is manageable.

Another member of the group, Susan Kagio, said they will also plow back the profits to their group table banking initiative to expand their capital base and make more money available for credit among the members.

Fishmongers have also opened shops in most of the major towns across the county while fish eateries have been opened on almost every street.

At Kagio town, selling cooked fish has become a lucrative business as customers buy raw fish and wait in queue for the vendors to deep fry for them.

“The demand for fish in this town is very high, I'm surprised. I started it as a trial business but now am fully into it. The only problem is the supply is low. We have to go many kilometres to Masinga dam or down river Sagana to get the fish,” James Bundi, a fishmonger in Kagio town said.

Hellen Atago, another fishmonger said the business has enabled her to meet her basic needs including educating her children.

She is happy about Governor Waiguru’s initiative in upscaling local fish production.

“People have discovered the value of consuming fish and those growing them locally are getting ready market,” Atago said.

Waiguru said her vision is to see Kirinyaga get a fair share of the fish market given that it is endowed with favourable aquaculture conditions which include fresh water and ready market.

She is working towards increasing annual fish production from the current 29.4 tons valued at Sh12.8 million to 62 tons which will fetch the farmers around Sh30 million per year.

Waiguru has over the years called upon residents to embrace routine consumption of fish as a way of boosting their health and growing the county’s economy.

She said that excess consumption of red meat has been attributed to the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney diseases among the county residents.

Waiguru notes that fish provides a good source of the recommended white meat.

(Edited by Tabnacha O)