The government targets to boost the fish value chain to increase the value of fish and fish products through a multibillion-shilling aquaculture programme.
In a speech read on behalf of Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya by Agriculture CAS, Lawrence Omuhaka, Munya said fisheries and aquaculture have a big potential that should be fully exploited for the country to realise maximum fish production.
He said there is a significant gap between the current fish demand of 600,000 metric tonnes and the national fish production of 150,000 metric tonnes.
“Kenya aspires to raise the current per capita fish consumption per year from 4.5 kg per person per year to over 10 kg per person per year by 2030.”
“This indicates a huge consumption gap and potential market for the Kenyan fish farmers,” he said.
Munya said through the Sh14.9 billion International Fund for Agricultural Development-funded Aquaculture Business Development Programme they expect fish production to increase.
The project is being implemented in 15 counties with high aquaculture potential such as Nyeri, Meru, Kirinyaga, Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Kajiado and Machakos.
Others are Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Kisii, Homa Bay, Busia and Siaya.
Nine vehicles acquired by the Ministry of Agriculture through support from IFAD to support aquaculture extension services were also flagged off.
Munya said the ABDP presents great opportunities for more than 35,000 (213,000 beneficiaries) to smallholder aquaculture farmers, inputs suppliers, aggregators and processors through public-private producer partnership.
Beneficiaries are set to benefit from inputs, linings, nets and supplies to boost production.
Through Public-Private Partnership, he said, fish processing plants shall be established in the participating counties, where farmers shall take their fish for processing and marketing.
Munya said the programme supporting counties in making the mini-fish processing plants in Meru, Nyeri, Kakamega and Migori counties will develop into aquaculture business hub, to support more than 5,500 youths through aquaculture support enterprises.
It also supports more than 63,900 women to form viable aquaculture related enterprises.
Munya said the vehicles issued to Kisumu, Kisii, Tharaka-Nithi, Busia, Siaya, Kajiado, Machakos and Kiambu will help revamp the sector as envisaged in the government’s blue economy agenda.
He said the vehicles alongside other interventions to support fish farmers are part of efforts in place to revive the sector which has been neglected for many years.
Munya said extension services at the county level have been greatly hampered by a lack of resources.
He challenged devolved units to mainstream aquaculture in their County Integrated Development Plans to unlock funds to revive the sector.
On his part, Omuhaka said the project which runs for eight years is set to enhance access to markets for farmers and empower them economically.
He said farmers in Kakamega, have already secured a market with the European Union where they are expected to supply 68 tonnes of fish every month.
“We want farmers to take advantage of this opportunity and scale-up production because there is a ready market,” he said.
State Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy, Principal Secretary Francis Owino said the high cost of feeds and poor quality fingerlings were the biggest challenges facing the sector.
He said feeds account for 60-70 per cent of the total cost of production thus pushing farmers out of business.
The project, he said, is set to enhance the availability and affordability of feeds at the same time provide quality fingerlings for farmers to scale up production.
ABDP National Program Coordinator, Sammy Macaria, said processing plants have already been established in Kakamega, Nyeri, Meru and Migori, asking farmers benefiting from the program to register with the nearby plant.
Each plant, he said, must issue farmers with batch numbers to facilitate a systematic supply of fish to avoid over-harvesting.
Macaria said the project was a buildup of the 2009 Economic Stimulus Program, noting that an average farmer is expected to produce at least one tons of fish per year.
The processors, he disclosed, have been facilitated by the project and have been directed to make timely payments to farmers.
The fish produced by farmers, he added, shall undergo routine analysis at the fish quality assurance laboratories to ensure that it is of the required standard.
“We are working with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute to research on fish diseases to ensure that the fish released into the market is safe for human consumption,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
