• Asichi said she made calculations and realised that if she sold 5,000 fish each at Sh1,500, she would earn Sh7.5 million.
• What she did not know was that she was dealing with a broker, who would make her wish she had not started the venture.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Image: HILTON OTENYO
When Elizabeth Asichi, 38, met a family friend who painted a rosy picture of fish farming, she knew her dreams of becoming successful were about to be realised.
The friend suggested to her to venture into fish farming as a factory was being set up in Kakamega, so the market won't be a problem.
“I was told that a fish factory was coming up in Kakamega, and it had even started buying fish from farmers at Sh500 per kilo. I was told that each fish would attain a weight of three kilos in six months,” she said.
Asichi said she made calculations and realised that if she sold 5,000 fish each at Sh1,500, she would earn Sh7.5 million.
Asichi, then an employee of the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), tasked someone to construct a pond for her and help her source for fingerlings.
What she did not know was that she was dealing with a broker, who would make her wish she had not started the venture.
She said the broker asked her to put 5,000 fingerlings in the pond that measured 160 square metres and she parted with 50,000.
Asichi soon realised the pond's size was just half of what a standard one should measure. It also had only one outlet and no inlet for a constant supply of oxygen.
When she asked about what to feed her fish on, she was told to feed them on anything, including ugali and sukuma wiki.
Three months later, a stench started emanating from the pond. Then her fish started dying one after the other.
She contacted a friend from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute (KEMFRI) who told her that her pond was not the standard size and that her stock was half frogs and half fish.
The official also told her that the water in the pond was contaminated since it only had an outlet without an inlet, denying the fish oxygen.
“After the instructions from the official on how to manage the pond and how to feed the fish, harvest time came, I only harvested 1,200 small fish that only went for Sh20 for each. The Sh7 million I hoped to earn varnished into thin air,” she said.
Asichi said she almost gave up, but she is glad she did not, as she is now one of the leading fish farmers in Kakamega county.
Today, Asichi has five fish ponds, two in Kakamega and three in Bungoma with 5,000 fish. She hopes to harvest her fish before the end of the year.
She is constructing 12 other ponds in Kakamega county that are supposed to be completed by the end of the year.
Asichi, the acting CEO of the Kakamega County Investment Agency, said training has helped her grow her venture.
“I sat down, soul-searched and saw a gap. I realised that our farmers have abandoned fish farming because of lack of knowledge and the extension officers are overwhelmed and there is a gap that even the private sector can exploit,” Asichi said.
“I decided to go for training in fish farming at Kemfri and did a lot of YouTube research on fish farming and concluded that even though I had been conned, there was still hope that fish farming was a lucrative venture.”
Asichi supports 105 fish farmers in Kakamega, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Vihiga and Busia counties on basic farming techniques such as pond construction, identifying the right quality of fingerings for stocking the ponds, management of water and how to feed their fish to produce the right size of fish.
She said some of the challenges farmers face include poor quality fish feed, poor quality fingerlings, poor feeding practices that affect the growth of stocks, theft, quality management of water, sampling of fish, fish handling and harvesting.
She said that agrovets that sell feeds lack qualified staff to guide farmers on how much feed to give to the fish as they grow.
Asichi said farmers get exploited by brokers who have realised there is a gap in the supply of quality fingerlings. She said brokers sell substandard fingerlings, which grow slowly.
“Farmers need to have the right fingerlings, use the right feed and quality and feeding practice. They also need to manage the waters in their ponds so they can make money in six to seven months time without necessarily having to put in more physical energy like they do for sugar cane and then wait for 18 months,” she said.
Asichi said Western region has huge potential in fish farming given the numerous water sources like streams, rivers and dams. The weather is also favourable for fish farming.
She said insurance companies should develop a policy for fish farmers just like the one for livestock to shield them against losses caused by harsh weather conditions such as floods and theft.
Asichi said the fish processing factory that was launched in Kakamega a month ago can be fully supplied with raw materials if fish farmers are equipped with the right information on the best practices.
The factory has a capacity to process 20 metric tonnes of fish a day. The factory has provided a ready market for farmers.
Asichi however noted that most farmers dislike going for training.
“People should make use of open field schools by agricultural organisations to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge to keep brokers out of the business,” she said.
Meanwhile, seven counties in Western and Nyanza are set to benefit from a Sh14.9 billion aquaculture project by the national government in conjunction with the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD).
Implementation of the project is underway in Kakamega, Busia, Homa Bay, Siaya, Migori, Kisumu and Kisii counties.
The project will see small-scale fish farmers from selected counties supplied with essential materials for setting up fish ponds and get quality fingerlings.
“The government sees fish farmers as the solution to the great high demand of fish currently being witnessed in the country,” Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Chief Administrative Secretary Lawrence Omuhaka said.
State Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Blue Economy PS Francis Owino has urged farmers to seek the guidance of extension officers so they can achieve the African fish consumption rate of 10 kilos per person per year target.
Edited by A.N