The aquaculture sector has started to feel the pinch of the ongoing drought as rivers, dams and fish ponds continue to dry across the country.
This came as the Senate Committee on Blue Economy challenged the national government to consider the aquaculture farmers while supporting other families affected by the drought.
The committee chairman Alexander Mundigi said that with rivers and dams drying up, the aquaculture sector was under serious threat.
The Embu senator attributed the current environmental challenges to climate change, adding that this had affected farmers across all the agriculture sectors.
“We have an increase in cases of fish death in the country and this is due to the harsh weather that has seen many rivers, dams and fish ponds dry up,” he said.
The senator was speaking during the ongoing workshop on validation of the national strategy on Blue Economy at Lake Naivasha Resort.
He lauded the move by the government to create the Blue Economy ministry, noting that the county had the potential of earning more from the fisheries sector.
“For years, the consumption of fish was concentrated in some regions but it’s now a delicacy for many who cannot afford the high cost of vegetables,” Mundingi said.
On her part, Njoro MP Charity Kathambi expressed her concern over an increase in cases of pollution of the country’s water bodies.
Kathambi, who is a member of the parliamentary committee on Blue Economy, identified plastic bottles as the major pollutant of the water bodies.
To this end, she said that the National Assembly had formed a parliamentary caucus on climate change, conservation and waste management.
“We have noticed an increase in cases of pollution in our water bodies and we shall work with other stakeholders in launching this caucus next month,” Kathambi said.
Addressing the press, she attributed the recent rise in water bodies in Rift Valley to climate change, adding that tens of families were displaced.
She said that the region leaders had engaged President William Ruto on the displaced families and destroyed property with a view of supporting them.
“Climate change is real and this is being manifested in the rise in the lake's water levels and the ongoing drought that has killed tens of livestock and left our rivers dry,” Kathambi said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
