Nairobi — The government has launched fish farming projects in the country that will cost over one billion shillings and it is estimate that it will create 120,000 new jobs.

The Ministry of Fisheries Development on Thursday launched the Sh1.12 billion to construct 200 fish farming ponds in 140 constituencies as a move to reduce poverty.

Funded by the government sponsored Economic Situmuls Programme, each of the constituencies will receive eight million shillings for the project.

Fisheries minister, Dr Paul Otuoma, launched the first of 20 show-case fish farming ponds in Gatundu South on Thursday.

He said the projects are designed to reduce poverty in the rural areas as one of the government measures to do that..The traditional fish sources, he says, are no longer dependable to meet the rising demand of fish in the country.

He says official statistics indicated that in 1999, the country had a population of 1.2 million tonnes of Nile Perch, which has now dwindled to a mere 300 metric tonnes.

"This indicate that there is no fish in the water anymore," he said.

Dr Otuoma encouraged farmers around the country to engage themselves in fish farming, which takes little space on their farms but with high financial returns while providing nutrion to Kenyans.

The Fish farming project is part of the government's Sh22 billion economic stimulus package that will soon be injected in various economic sectors in the country by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta in an effort to revive the economy.

Last June, Uhuru presented a budget in Parliament against a backdrop of global and national economic challenges which have resulted in a slowing down of the economy to a trifling 1.7 percent in 2009 compared to the 7.1 percent at the end of 2007.

Substantial decline of agricultural production and the slowing down of economic activity in the key growth sectors of tourism and construction have demanded deliberate action by the government to salvage the situation and hence the stimulus.

The fisheries ministry has taken the lead in the implementation of the project while participants, associated households and cluster groups will be co-implementers. District Fisheries Officers will roll out the project implementation at the grass-root level and are charged with the training of participants.

The aquaculture of suitability mapping of the whole country has been done and verification of brood stock and setting up of seed production targets for government and private fish farms are complete.

To participate in the Fish farming project, applicants should be:

Unemployed young Kenyans, fish farmers, women and public institutions such as schools, small local factories, etc.

• Have land within the identified potential areas

• Be a member of a registered cluster of at least 15 people

• Be willing to construct a pond of at least 300 square metres

• Be committed to actively participate in fish farming during the entire period

• Be willing to run the activity as a small scale business enterprise

• Be ready to maintain records on stocking, sampling, feeding, harvesting and sales, etc

Labour for pond construction will be sourced from the youth within the benefiting constituencies under the supervision of an Aquaculture Extension Officer.

The ponds will be stocked with appropriate fingerlings as will be determined by the eco-climatic zones and the needs of the beneficiaries.

Farm inputs which include fish feeds and manure/fertiliser will be supplied to individual farmers through their clusters in quantities enough to run one production season. The acquisition of the feeds will be done through the Constituency Projects Tender Committee.

To ensure sustainability of the project, the Ministry will enter into a memorandum of understanding with private fish hatcheries for the supply of quality fingerlings.