Embu residents want government to revive fish farming project

Residents of Kanyuango area in Embu North sub-county have appealed to the government to revive a fish rearing project that used to employ tens of youths in its heydays.
Between 1999 and 2005, young men and women in the area run several fish ponds and would harvest fish worth Sh200,00 every six months.
They had come together as a self-help group, wrote several proposals and were funded by the European Union and the Government of Kenya to start the Sh4 million project.
According to Mbuvori location Chief Muriuki Muthee, the project supplied fingerlings to fish farmers in the county and sold mature tilapia to the local market and in Embu town.
Muthee said after running the project for about five years, the 25 members differed on sharing of the income leading to the collapse of the project as mesh wire and stones were vandalised.
"We are appealing to the Ministries of Fisheries and Social Services to bring together the youths and assist them to revive the project. The water here is cold and clean, which is conducive for tilapia fish rearing," said Muthee.
He said another project run by youths at Kambebo area in the location continued to thrive and recently sold fish worth Sh145,000, showing the Kanyuango project could create jobs if revived.
Anthony Mugendi, a young man from Kanyuango said farmers groups, educational institutions and tourists would visit them boosting their incomes.