Kennedy Senelwa
18 October 2009
Nairobi — The fish pond farming kitty of Sh1.2 billion has received an additional Sh31 million boost from Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The funds will go towards helping farmers in Yala in Siaya, Luanda in Emuhaya and Lurambi in central Kakamega Districts to construct and stock fish ponds, said FAO's representative to Kenya, Dr Castro Camarada.
He added that the organisation was promoting fish pond farming to help the country address the food crisis, following a drastic drop in maize production due to poor weather.
Modern farming
Speaking during a farmers field day held in Lurambi, Dr Camarada said Kenyans need to adopt modern farming technology and diversify farming practices. He said that after helping to introduce palm oil in western Kenya, FAO will also help the country acquire new technology from other countries to develop fish pond farming.
Western Kenya assistant director for Fisheries, Mr Michael Oballa, said the government has set aside Sh1.2 billion in current financial year to construct ponds in 140 constituencies.
Aqua culture
He added that the activities under the aqua culture stimulus programme and Lurambi constituency have been allocated Sh700 million for the project.
Mr Oballa said 10 young men will be hired to construct a pond costing Sh25,000, to help ease unemployment in the area and 200 fishponds are expected to be constructed in Lurambi Constituency.
The Fisheries official added that the Government has embarked on fish pond production, following a drastic drop in fish resources from Lake Victoria.
He urged farmers in Lurambi constituency to form a company and start manufacturing fish feed, as demand for the products are going to increase because of fishpond farming.
He said Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania had directed a committee of experts to come up with a solution on how to address the downward trend of fish production in Lake Victoria.
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