Peasant farmers in Central ditch hoes for fishing nets

By Murimi Mwangi

Nyeri, Kenya: There have been murmurs over the proliferation of universities around the country, with some people arguing that the move is poorly planned and might end up watering down Kenya’s standards of higher education.

But residents of Karatina, and by extension, Central Kenya, are not complaining. If anything, they have everything to celebrate about the launch of Karatina University.

The university, which received a charter only in March this year, is not giving the people fish but teaching them how to fish, literally, and helping change their lives and lifestyles.

The university’s Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology has sparked a wave that is spreading fast, far and wide. The department developed a course on fishing early this year, targeting those interested in fish farming. 

The course became an instant hit, with the department netting scores of interested farmers, some of who were already involved in fish farming.

Today, over 6,000 residents of Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua and Laikipia counties have embraced fish farming.

Ornamental fish

Interestingly, the farmers, most of whose livelihood vocabulary was limited to jembe, panga, coffee, cattle, maize and vegetables, are now familiar with terms such as ornamental fish, hormonal injections, bio filters and genetically improved fish breeds, all thanks to Karatina University, which has opened its doors to enable the farmers have theoretical fish farming lessons. Practical lessons take place at the various fish ponds owned by the fish farmers.

The lessons have been so successful that farmers with some experience in fish farming, who sit in class for the short-term courses with those who know little about the subject, become teachers when the classes turn up at the ponds for practical lessons.

William Kiama, a large-scale fish farmer based in Sagana, Kirinyaga County, is among the “serious fish farmers” who have taken the course.

Mr Kiama lauds the programme, saying the technical knowledge has helped him harvest more fish and cash.

“I quit politics to become a full time fish farmer. I make close to Sh180,000 a month from my fish farm. I would not make even half that much when I was a councillor,” he reveals.

Dr Charles Gatune, the co-ordinator of the university’s Aquaculture department, says more local fish farmers were registering for the short-term courses.

“There is need for students to be furnished with practical skills and the most ideal people to impart such first-hand knowledge are the fish farmers,” notes Gatune.

To reciprocate the farmers’ hospitality, the department has procured modern equipment for research on fish farming and laboratory services, which are provided for farmers at a subsidised cost.

In the words of Gatune, a farmer “pays only bench fees” for all the services as opposed to paying a consultant.

At the university’s Aquatics department, lecturers have been working overtime to develop new fish species by cross-breeding indigenous fish with exotic ones to generate genetically improved fish species.

Central Kenya is endowed with trout, an indigenous fish species largely associated with the Mount Kenya climate. However, the farmers are slowly turning to more economically viable species such as tilapia, catfish and ornamental fish.

Kiama, for instance, is undertaking both food fish (tilapia and catfish) farming and ornamental fish farming.

Black bass

Gatune says that fish farmers in the region may soon start keeping black bass, a species commonly found in Lake Naivasha, and a genetically improved tilapia.

“For our farmers to feature in the international fish market, they must meet the standards of the market with regards to fish quality,” says Gatune.

Due to the favourable market prospects, local farmers have embraced the hormonal injection to increase the productivity of the fish.

 Hormonal injection is a technique that ensures fish lay eggs in a controlled environment as opposed to the natural environment where they only lay eggs during the rainy season. With the injection, a single fish can lay as much as 50,000 eggs per month.

The university has developed modern hatcheries to facilitate mass fertilisation of the eggs, occasioned by the injection technology, and improve the survival levels of the fish.

But as the fortunes of the established fish farmers in the region shine, newcomers in the sector have cited myriad stumbling blocks that they want the university to help to eradicate.

Topping the list is the high cost of inputs, including fish feeds and post-harvesting equipment. Research is ongoing at the university to produce fish feeds made locally from indigenous raw materials.

To boost the farmers’ fortunes, the short-term courses also touch on marketing strategies to help them handle new markets.