Fish farmers in Nyaribari Chache Sub County of Kisii have benefitted from a donation of 25,000 fingerlings to boost production.
The donation is a joint venture by the Micro Enterprise Support Programme Trust (MESPT) in partnership with the county government.
Speaking to KNA after the distribution exercise, Kisii County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Agriculture, Esman Onsarigo said the support will enhance the fish farmers’ income and improve their nutrition on the family front even as the county angles to become a role model devolved unit in aquaculture development in the entire country.
“We are giving these farmers 25,000 monosex tilapia fingerlings which we expect that after six months, the farmers will harvest and deliver them to the Kisii Fisheries Center where they will be sold to consumers,” Onsarigo said.
The CEC urged the fish farmers to take advantage of the support they receive from various development partners and keenly follow the technical advice given by the Programme Officers.
He expressed his gratitude to MESPT for not only supporting the aquaculture business in Kisii, but also other value chains such as dairy farming, capacity building and renovation of training facilities at the Kisii Agricultural Training Center (ATC).
“As a county, we want to thank the development partners for giving us some motivation and accelerating our effort towards achieving food security and increasing income for our people,” Onsarigo added.
MESPT Programme Officer, Kennedy Opondo said they are supporting farmers in the aquaculture value chain in Kisii under the Green Employment in Agriculture Programme by providing access to markets, meaningful employment, and greening technologies within the value chain.
Opondo pointed out that the project is a prolonged, deliberate and organised process that involves identifying the beneficiaries and undertaking capacity building in production skills and food safety among others.
“We really appreciate the partnership and the cordial support that we continue to receive from the county government of Kisii,” he said.
MESPT is funded by the European Union and Danish International Development Agency and has been supporting sustainable economic growth and development of smallholder farmers and agriMSMEs to increase productivity and income, and enhance competitiveness for job creation, especially for youth and women.
Over the last 20 years, the Trust has been supporting the agricultural and financial services sectors of the Kenyan economy, and for the past 10 years ventured into supporting the green/renewable energy industry.
By Mercy Osongo
