By H, KNA
The coastal county of Kwale in partnership with the Kenya Marine Fisheries Socio-Economic Development (KEMFSED) have partnered in projects seeking to boost fish production, increase food security and enhance economic opportunities.
The KEMFSED project, worth Sh.10 billion, is implemented by the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries with support from the World Bank with the project duration being 2020-2025.
It is being implemented in the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu to improve livelihood activities in coastal communities.
The donor funded programme aims at expanding access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and businesses, contributing to the overall socio-economic development of the coastal counties.
Kwale in collaboration with KEMFSED has been empowering fisherfolks by distributing fingerlings and other inputs to support the aquaculture sub sector and improve food and nutrition security and livelihoods.
The partnership programme has distributed items that include multifilament’s fishing nets, fiberglass fishing boats with outboard engines, cooler boxes, flares, bond liners, GPS gadgets, life rafts and life jacket floats to small scale fishermen in order to turn fishing into a profitable venture.
The fishing equipment is aimed at empowering and enhancing the capacity of small scale fishers across the coastal county to venture into intensive deep sea fishing.
Governor Fatuma Achani says the partnership seeks to strengthen local fish farmers’ capacity to produce more fish and create business opportunities in aquaculture.
Governor Achani says the partnership to support the farmers will help local fisherfolks bridge fish production deficits.
She said fish ponds would address the challenges of unavailability and inaccessibility of fishes which are identified as impediments to fish farming in the region.
Achani was speaking when she led the stocking of 4,000 fish fingerlings and aquafeed in two fishing ponds by the Matuga Village Elders Self-HeLP Group at Dzangadzangani village in Kombani, Waa/Ngombeni ward, Matuga Sub County.
She said the group has been provided with pond fencing materials, pond harvesting nets, post-harvest equipment, and water quality assessment apparatus, pond sampling items, personal protective equipment and water storage tanks.
“Through such initiatives coastal communities are opening up new livelihoods while safeguarding the marine resources for posterity,” she said.
The Governor said such investments are reducing risks from traditional fishing methods, enabling safer journeys to richer fishing grounds and easing pressure on fast-depleting nearshore resources.
She says the fisheries and aquaculture sector plays a vital role in food and nutrition security and economic growth.
“Our partnership with the KEMFSED project also aims to position fisheries and aquaculture as a leading agricultural value chain,” she said reaffirming her commitment to leveraging aquaculture for food security, employment creation and community development.
Achani who was accompanied by her Deputy Chirema Kombo and County Executive for Agriculture and Fisheries Roman Shera said so far the devolved government has constructed 58 fish ponds in Tsunza, Msambweni, Kinango and Lunga Lunga areas with 70,000 fingerlings stocked.
Roman Shera the Agriculture and Fisheries Executive says local farmers are receiving inputs, advice on good farming practices and being linked to ready marine markets to boost their incomes.
Shera says the devolved unit is leading efforts to enhance aquaculture such as increasing local fish production and promoting sustainable practices to unlock the fishing sector’s full potential.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Executive says the empowerment drive has allowed the fishermen to store their catch for longer periods, reducing waste and boosting profitability.
Shera says the cold storage equipment has allowed fishermen to supply fresh fish which fetches for a higher price than dried fish to external marine fisheries markets.
Representing the Matuga Village Elders Self-Help Group, Ramadhan Gang’ombe expressed gratitude to the partnership project, noting that the fish farming initiative will help improve livelihoods and create job opportunities for members to earn a decent income.
The fish farmer said self-help groups in the locality have been worried over fish scarcity but welcomed the support noting that it will significantly help to reduce the suffering of local fishermen.