Orengo's government goes for aquaculture to boost fish produce

Siaya County government has embarked on an aggressive fish production campaign through aquaculture to boost food security and income for the residents of the rural county.

The promotion of the aquaculture uptake initiative which is steered by the Department of Agriculture is giving hope to thousands of smallholder fish farmers in Siaya.

Governor James Orengo's administration has provided since provided 659,000 fingerlings to support the project that targets to boost earnings at the household level and enhance food security through fish farming.

So far, 1,207 fish farmers, mainly from smallholder farms have been recruited into the initiative which is being implemented in collaboration with the Agriculture Business Development Programme (ABDP).

The program targets to enrol 1,289 farmers.

According to the assistant director of fisheries David Mboya, who is coordinating the program in the county, Siaya produces about 30,000 metric tonnes of fish annually.

"That is fish produced through capture from Lake Victoria and Kanyaboli," he said.

With a population of about 1 million people and the present decline in fish production, the county's demand for fish is not being met through capture fisheries.

"Over 80 percent of Siaya residents live in the rural areas where poverty levels are high and food security is a big issue. We therefore must seek alternative approaches to fish production rather than relying on the traditional capture fisheries," Mboya added.

Fish stocks continue to deplete in the lake due to amongst other factors-over fishing which is brought about by the increasing numbers of fishermen.

The dwindling stocks are also a result of the continued use of illegal fishing gear and methods as well as pollution.

Siaya agriculture executive Sylvester K'Okoth says the Agriculture Business Development Programme ( ABDP) has come as a huge relief to smallholder farmers in the county.

The initiative is funded by International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the county and national governments.

Siaya is amongst the counties implementing the program.

On Thursday, the CEC noted that aquaculture is the most sustainable alternative for fish production in the county and adopting it will boost food security.

"The existing potential for aquaculture has not been tapped fully in the past. Some of the fish farmers who had taken up the business were forced to abandon their ponds due to lack of inputs," he said.

Others had their ponds destroyed by floods and couldn't retain water while the rest of the farmers incurred huge production losses.

The program is expected to run until 2026.

The CEC said ABDP is providing opportunity for the youth, the most vulnerable people to participate in fish production that will boost their earnings and also avail food to most families.

"We want to involve as many youths as possible in aquaculture," he said.

Farmers enrolled in the project are provided with input support.

"They receive fingerlings, predator nets/kits, liners and fish feeds," the CEC said.

Daniel Onyango is a beneficiary of the program.

He is the chairman of the Nyapoto youth group.

"Through the project, the youth group received predator kits, feeds and fingerlings," he told the Star.

Farmers in the project are also trained on the best practices and sponsored to visit other model farms to further gain knowledge on aquaculture.

James Obonyo, who is another beneficiary says he expects to grow his income through fish farming.

The project supported him to construct 3 large ponds and later received 1, 700 fingerlings, liners, predator kits and feeds.

"After the first harvest in December, I was able to stock the other two ponds with tilapia. Now I'm working on the fourth pond which I will stock with cut fish," Obonyo said.

Before the project, Victor Oduor relied on a small-sized pond which was getting water from a borehole he dug.

He would later expand his venture when he was enlisted into the project.

In January, the county government provided him with 1,700 fingerlings. He also received a liner.

"I expect to harvest in July," he said

Like the rest of the beneficiaries, farmers like Oduor are encouraged to have kitchen gardens in their homes.

They grow traditional vegetables that are highly nutritious.

"Now I don't have to buy vegetables from the local markets because I produce enough for the family from my small kitchen garden," he said.

Through participatory rural appraisals, John Otieno, a fish farmer from Sidindi says he was able to learn the best practices that he hopes will boost productivity.

"We were trained on farm management, feeds formulation and how to construct ponds," he said.

He says that fish feeds and fingerlings were the biggest challenges to most farmers in the area.

"With the knowledge on feeds formulation, now I am able to make my own which is sustainable," he said

Through the project, a demonstration farm has been established in Siaya town next to the fisheries office.

The farm has onions, kales, bananas, and various types of traditional vegetables.

" Farmers who visit these kitchen gardens are encouraged to establish similar ones in their homes," the program's coordinator said

Model ponds are also established in each of the six sub-counties of Siaya to help in the training of farmers.

"As farmers wait to harvest the farmed fish, they can reap from the food produced at the kitchen gardens," Mboya added.

He noted that this is the surest way to ensure there's food at home at the household level.

" They're also encouraged to keep poultry for eggs and chicken products," he noted.

Light portable fish ponds have also been introduced in areas within the county that experience floods. The portable ponds are suitable for rearing tilapia.

Apart from tilapia, the farmers who are in the program also do cut fish farming.

Cut fish takes six to eight months to mature. Mature ones weigh eight kilograms. At the moment a kilo sells at Sh350 .

A farmer with 1,000 fingerlings will likely earn Sh350,000 when the fish is harvested.

Most farmers in the program have at least three to four fish ponds.

Siaya governor James Orengo on Thursday said the aquaculture project will greatly enhance nutrition and food security and offer relief to the residents.

"It will increase fish production. Fish produced in Siaya is not just for local consumption. Trucks come all the way from Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru etc to collect our fish," he said.

This he noted will result in huge earnings to the farmers.

"We began with community mobilisation through participatory rural appraisals. The intention was to discuss with them and enable the community to appreciate the potential that exists in aquaculture," Orengo said.

"We began with constructing new ponds for tilapia and cut fish, renovating old ponds that were idle and developing Community Action plans," he said.

The governor noted that so far Siaya has recruited over 90 percent of the number of farmers that the program is targeting.

He disclosed that the County Government, through the agriculture department has since stocked 659 ponds with 659,000 fingerlings.

"A total of 148 .3 metric tonnes of fish is expected from the stock by November," Orengo noted.

Under the program, other services provided include extension services and a manual for fish farm management.

The governor said that the focus now is to strengthen the fish farmer groups, market aggregation and systems.

He said that his administration has set aside the fiscal year 2023/2024 Sh 50 million to establish a fish multiplication centre as part of infrastructure development for the sector.

Because of performance in regards to the implementation of ABDP, Siaya on Wednesday scooped top awards in Tharaka Nithi.

This was during the third annual national stakeholders review workshop in terms of program performance.

The County was awarded the 2nd Best, Overall County Trophy, 2nd Most Improved Trophy and 2nd Best in Reporting & Data Quality.

It was also awarded the Best Supported by county, and 2nd Best in Fish Production by program beneficiary.

Siaya got its sixth award during the ceremony for having produced Runner's Up in the Most Creative Youth category.