Residents turn to fish farming in the wake of miraa ban

Meru, Kenya: Farmers have been forced to look for alternative means of livelihood following dwindling fortunes from their once revered miraa crop.

Speaking to The Standard, county Agriculture Chief Officer Kinge Manene said many residents have now ventured into fish farming having discovered its huge earning potential.

“We now have over 4,000 fish farmers and the number is growing. We have put up three fish ponds in all the 45 wards with an exception of Mwangathia ward, which has five ponds,” he said.

The chief officer said the county is currently producing 300 tonnes of fish per year with efforts being made to scale it up to 1,000 tonnes in the coming year.

Mr Manene said the Government has also constructed a Sh60 million fish factory at Kanyekine which is set to be opened next month.

EARN MORE

“Once complete, the factory will have capacity to process 10 tonnes of fish per week. We are thankful the Government has recognised that our county has a large number of fish farmers, hence their decision to build a processing facility for us,” he said.

Manene said once the factory is open, farmers will earn even more since they will be in position to meet demand from hotels, schools, homes and other institutions.

He said the department was last year allocated Sh25.2 million which was reduced to Sh10 million this year.

Manene said constructing a basic fish pond costs between Sh100,000 to Sh150,000.

“We use demonstration ponds to teach potential farmers and supply them with fingerlings from our hatcheries. Many have taken it up, and are doing very well. Some of it is for family consumption and others for sale,” he said.

According to Manene, most residents are mainly farming male tilapia because it is a versatile type that does well in different environments and is more profitable because it grows big.

“The female tilapia takes longer to grow and needs more energy to farm. We have two hatcheries where we do selective breeding in order to cater for our farmers' demands,” he said.

County Fisheries Director, Patrick Mbaabu, said fish farming is not only a profitable venture, it is also good for the families since fish consumption is known to boost health.

HEALTHY FAMILIES

“Eating fish is good for brain development and helps in lowering blood pressure,” Mbaabu said.

 

Lauding the growing fishing sector, Governor Peter Munya, said it provides an alternative and affordable family and community income generating project.

The governor said fisheries project will also increase protein consumption and boost families’ health which should lead to increased productivity.

Mr Munya said the idea behind the fisheries project is part of the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) and will be rolled all over the county.

“We do not want our farmers to depend on crops alone. We have plenty of water for them to rear fish which they can then sell and make profits.

Although residents are not accustomed to eating fish, they will begin to do so and benefit from the nutrients there in. Our children’s health will greatly improve because of fish consumption,” he said.

The governor said they are now working on value addition to ensure fish farming is as profitable as it can be.

“We are interested in value addition so that apart from consuming the fish, we will make animal feeds, fertilisers and other products such as oils for medicinal use,” he said.