The Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) has unveiled a state-of-the-art fish hatchery with the capacity to produce 45 million metric tonnes of fingerlings annually, a significant milestone aimed at addressing the country’s fish production gap.
The facility, located at the Kibos Integrated Technology Transfer Centre (ITTC) in Kisumu County, is equipped with the advanced Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), to ensure year-round production of high-quality fingerlings.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the facility, LBDA Managing Director (MD) Wycliffe Ochiaga said the hatchery will produce 4 million fingerlings every month to be sold to farmers at a subsidized price of Sh. 5, down from the market price of Ksh. 15.
This, he said, was deliberate to cushion farmers from the high costs of fingerlings and feeds so as to spark growth of the sector and help bridge the gap in production.
“The availability of affordable, high-quality fingerlings will be a game-changer for fish farmers across the country. Thus, we expect this facility to significantly boost fish production, enhance food security, and create employment opportunities in the aquaculture sector,” he said.
While Kenya’s annual fish consumption stood at 600,000 tonnes, Ochiaga mentioned the natural catch was shrinking leaving a shortfall of about 180,000 metric tonnes.
“The reason why we adopted this new technology is to address the shortfall that we have in terms of fish production locally,” he said.
The new hatchery, he added, aims to bridge the gap by making affordable fingerlings more accessible to smallholder farmers and commercial fish enterprises.
Hence, to enhance technology, transfer and capacity building, LBDA, he said, has partnered with Aquatec, a leading aquaculture technology firm, to train farmers on modern fish farming techniques.
The partnership will see farmers gain access to best practices in feed production, fish rearing, water management, and sustainable aquaculture.
“Our goal is not just to provide fingerlings but to empower farmers with knowledge and skills to improve fish yields and incomes,” Ochiaga stated.
LBDA, he said has developed an online marketing platform to support farmers sell their fish and fish products adding that the agency was scouting for strategic partnerships to roll out value addition for farmers to reap more benefits.
“We have already partnered with one of the players in the industry to add value to our fish and curb post-harvest losses,” he said.
Lastly, LBDA is constructing a cold chain facility to assist farmers in storing fish for market access.
By Chris Mahandara
