President William has announced his administration has set aside up to Sh900 million for fish landing sites in the Nyanza region.
The head of state said the nine landing sites in the region should start functioning within the next year.
"In the landing sites, we will ensure we have cold storage and processing, including marketing process to ensure we derive revenue from fishing and also have a market for them," he said.
The landing sites will be at Luanda Kotieno (the president said it is complete), Wich Lum, Asat, Bugar, Sori, and more two in Homa Bay county.
Fish landing sites are points at which the sale of fish is done, and a place where the fishermen can leave their boats.
Further, Ruto added that there are plans underway to start the process of restocking Lake Victoria with fingerlings to enable an adequate amount of fish in lakes.
"We must engage in the business of restocking Lake Victoria. We will be generating at least seven million fingerlings every year from Kabonyo, these will be used across the region as we go along making sure we have adequate food," he said.
The President spoke during the groundbreaking of the Kabonyo Fisheries and Aquaculture Service and Training Centre in Nyando, Kisumu County.
He said the project he had launched would be complete by the end of 2024 as the residents have been waiting for its construction for 20 years.
Ruto revealed that his administration had partnered with the government of Hungary which donated up to Sh1 billion for the Kabonyo project.
"This project will be part of and process of restocking Lake Victoria."
There have been concerns in regard to the state of Lake Victoria as fishermen sought help from the government to tackle the water hyacinth menace, which is affecting the fish stock.
“The weeds have led to other plants growing, creating a hideout for predators to fish, such as otters, crocodiles and snakes, which not only affect fish stock but are also a threat to our lives,” one of the fishermen said in August.
“We have seen a high number of fish deaths in cages in other areas, and we are afraid the same might happen here as water hyacinth has increased."
Ruto is in the region for a four-day development tour and is expected to chair a cabinet meeting in Kisumu county on Tuesday next week.
This will be the first time a sitting president will be holding a Cabinet meeting in the Millennium City which has always voted for opposition leader Raila Odinga to a man.
