Kenya project to mitigate poverty by scaling-up fish farming & providing education
Category:UpdatesAwF recently approved a Fish Farming Proposal submitted by the Holy Will Women Group located in South Rachounyo District in the Homa Bay County of Kenya.
The project’s objective is to scale-up fish farming activities to mitigate poverty among smallholders in the community who, through government initiatives, have been involved in fish farming but without prior training that would have enabled them to succeed. Also, there is a need for a reliable fish hatchery close-by to obtain fingerlings for stocking or restocking their ponds.
The project will establish a semi-intensive fish hatchery cum production centre where high quality fingerlings and table-size tilapia will be produced under the Happa system (net enclosure) and in earthen ponds, respectively. The project will also organize quarterly educational field days, in collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Fisheries, to train at least 800 smallholders in the basic practices of aquaculture, including site selection, water quality, pond construction, characteristics of certified seeds, stocking rate, feeding, predators, harvesting techniques, preservation, marketing, soil and water conservation and book-keeping.
If implemented as proposed, smallholders in the region will farm fish using tested and scientifically proven practices which will greatly improve nutritional standards and increase household incomes by over 200%, significantly reducing the overall poverty level. The initiative is expected to run for three years.