Fish farmers from Kakamega County have called upon the government to recognize the county among the blue economy counties in the country.
Led by Kakamega Fish Farmers Cooperative Chairman Laban Mwanzo, the farmers argued that the county hugely contributes to the growth of the already established blue economy counties by supplying, producing and packaging fish for local and export markets.
He noted that failure to be listed among the blue economy counties has led to the county losing financial support from different organizations.
He lauded Governor Fernandes Barasa for approving subsidized fingerlings and feeds to farmers across the county and former Kakamega county governor Wycliffe Oparanya for purchasing fingerlings for farmers at a subsidized price.
Mwanzo, who owns 200 fish ponds, noted that their biggest challenge is importation of cheap fish which has made the sale of local fish a problem.
“However, the supply chain for the commodity is still low hence I would like to encourage more farmers to invest in the trade to satisfy the demand market in China,” he said, noting further that fish farming was less tedious and needs less space.
Kakemega county has 1,400 registered fish farmers with each farmer having an average of two ponds,” he said, noting that the cooperative is pushing to have a fish representative in each sub county to educate farmers on the importance of fish farming.
By Andanje Wakhungu
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