allAfrica.com, 3 March 2011
Fish farmers face new hurdles in lack of supporting infrastructure. More than 28,000 farmers have joined the industry in the last two years as the government implements a Sh4.1 billion project to build fish ponds in the 210 constituencies.
The move has seen production grow from 4,000 metric tonnes worth Sh560 million in 2006, to 12,154 tonnes worth Sh3.6 billion last year. The Fisheries Development ministry anticipates production to reach 20,000 tonnes by June.
However, the growth in production has had little impact on poverty alleviation because supporting infrastructure such as training and extension services, supply of fingerlings, refrigeration, processing, and market access have not grown in tandem.
Fish farmers face new hurdles in lack of supporting infrastructure. More than 28,000 farmers have joined the industry in the last two years as the government implements a Sh4.1 billion project to build fish ponds in the 210 constituencies.
The move has seen production grow from 4,000 metric tonnes worth Sh560 million in 2006, to 12,154 tonnes worth Sh3.6 billion last year. The Fisheries Development ministry anticipates production to reach 20,000 tonnes by June.
However, the growth in production has had little impact on poverty alleviation because supporting infrastructure such as training and extension services, supply of fingerlings, refrigeration, processing, and market access have not grown in tandem.
"There has been a ripple effect and many people are doing it on their own," said Mr Maina Gichuri, the chief fisheries officer at the Fisheries Development ministry.
Quality fingerlings
Demand for quality fingerlings has shot up from one million to 28 million in less than a year, and is expected to peak at 100 million soon, presenting a huge challenge to the ministry's hatcheries.
The trend has forced the government to turn to the private sector, while upgrading its more than 30 hatcheries across the country. Rising production without value addition will inevitably lead to oversupply, hurting prices.
This calls for the creation of value addition processes. Value addition in terms of refrigeration and processing was planned for in the Sh3 billion set aside in the 2010/2011 budget for the second phase of the project.
Through the allocation, the Fisheries ministry is building 80 small refrigeration centres which will help farmers sell their fish beyond their neighbourhood. Mr Gichuri said the ministry was constructing processing plants in every constituency.
Other ways of value addition being promoted include production of fish meal, canning, fingerling production, rearing of ornamental fish, and tourism attraction. Without refrigeration facilities that can allow them to sell beyond local centres, fish farmers have had to depend on unreliable rural markets.
Some of the communities engaging in fish farming have traditionally not been ardent consumers of the fish, further narrowing the market. This highlights the need for awareness creation on benefits of fish consumption.
n major towns like Nairobi, a kilogramme of fish fillet costs about Sh350 which is more expensive than other available types of meat. A whole Tilapia costs between Sh250 and Sh320 per kilogramme.
Demand for fingerlings
The growth of aquaculture has created demand for 28 million fingerlings and more than 14,000 tonnes of fish feed. Farmers have had to contend with delayed supply of supplementary feeds, while some feed stockists have reportedly been using sub-standard ingredients like rice husks rather than rice bran causing stunted growth of fish.
With the raging drought in most parts of the country, some fish ponds have dried up leaving farmers exposed to losses. Mr Gichuri said there are plans to construct three rain water retention dams in every constituency.
Source: allAfrica.com
