Initiative to create 150,000 jobs in aquaculture in six counties

Stakeholders in the blue economy have embarked on an initiative to empower the youth in the six counties in the country.

Speaking during the Kilifi County fish farmers linkage forum meeting at Oshan farm in Takaungu in Kilifi County, Livingwood consultant limited manager, Lucas Abila, said the initiative aimed at creating 150,000 jobs for the youth.

He said the Youth in Sustainable Aquaculture (YISA) programme has brought together producers, traders, and service providers in the aquaculture value chain in Kilifi, Kakamega, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Busia, and Siaya counties.

The initiative is supported by Mastercard Foundation and implemented by Farm Africa, Echo Network Africa Foundation, Lattice, Aquarech Limited, Ramogi Institute of Advanced Technology (RIAT), Hydro Victoria, and Livingwood Consultants Limited.

Abila noted that the programme has already created 46,000 jobs since its inception in 2023.

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“We are working in six counties and we have reached 46,000 jobs for the youth, including women who face gender-based violence due to lack of economic empowerment, and in Kilifi County, we have reached out to 10,000 youth,” he said.

He added that through Local Service Providers (LSPs) in those counties, more youth, especially women, have ventured into fish farming and the fish industry value chains.

Edison Kashindo, a beneficiary of the programme and a crab farmer at Mida creek in Kilifi County, said that he was trained on fish caging, and he focused on fattening crabs and shrimps.

“We were taken for training in 2023 for a short course on crab fattening, and through which I gained knowledge, and at the moment, I practise crab farming at Mida creek in Dabaso village, where I have 100 cages with each cage holding 14 crabs,” he said.

He added that he buys the crabs from fishermen and rears them in the cages for one month for fattening purposes before selling them to hotels in Watamu and other places.

“I buy a crab at Sh600 from fishermen and sell it at Sh1,200 after fattening, which is value addition. Through the venture, I have created employment for five fellow youth in my area,” he said.

Another beneficiary of the programme, Ms Jesca Mbeyu, said she rears crabs with the Mtongani Kidundu self-help group at the Kilifi creek.

She said she has been empowered, and she now offers employment to other women in the area.

“We have 30 members dealing in various value chains, and I chose fish farming, and up to now we have eight ponds. We buy fingerlings, which we rear in the ponds.

"I am happy because I can now get money, and this has reduced gender-based violence in families, which was being caused by a lack of economic empowerment,” she said.

In Kilifi County alone, there are 22 LSPs under the YISA program spread out in all sub-counties and working closely with county employees in the fisheries department to empower the youth.

Charity Nyamvula, a LSP lead in the county, said that the response of the program was good and was attracting more and more youth into aquaculture and mariculture.

“In Kilifi County, we have 22 LSPs spread out in all the sub-counties so that we can train the young on fish farming and business. We also rope in gender education so that all special groups in society,” she said.

Dr Stephen Muguna, a manager at Farm Africa, said the YISA programme was being funded by Mastercard Foundation to promote four value chains in the blue economy sector, which include mariculture, aquaculture, soya, and black soldier fly.

“In these counties, we support four value chains, including mariculture, which entails the production of seafood such as crabs and shrimps. In aquaculture, we focus on tilapia and catfish production,” he said.

“Then we have two other value chains that support mariculture and aquaculture. They are soya, which is produced as a raw material for fish feeds, and black soldier fly farming, which is an animal-based protein source for fish feeds,” he said.