Freelance journalist — Kenya

It is a hot afternoon and Sheila Wafula, a resident and peasant farmer from the Busia district in western Kenya, is meticulously balancing a basket full of smoked African catfish on her head as she walks to the local market. Sheila started rearing catfish on her farm one year ago after being taught the necessary skills by a community-based group known as the Siteko Wetlands Self-Help Organization.

With the help of her husband, Mukuri Wafula, Sheila dug a pond, 5 meters (16 feet) by 10 meters (33 feet), on her family's small farm, which is on the edge of Siteko Wetlands. "We regularly harvest fish from our pond and whenever the catch is big, we smoke the surplus for two days before taking them to the market," she said. Sheila's pond can carry between 2,500 to 3,000 catfish.

Sheila emphasized that catfish of all sizes are high in demand. Fingerlings (juvenile fish) are sold to other farmers venturing into fish farming. Fishermen from Lake Victoria, which is not far from Siteko Wetlands, also purchase catfish fingerlings for use as bait for catching Nile perch.

Mature fish from Sheila's pond weigh approximately 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). If well taken care of, catfish can mature within six months and fetch approximately US$1.6 per kilogram. Catfish is a delicacy for residents of western Kenya, and Sheila is finding it difficult to cope with the demand.

Sheila initially obtained 30 fingerlings from the fishponds of the Siteko Wetlands Self-Help Organization, which is involved in fish farming and wetlands conservation activities. She first reared them in a plastic water tank on a trial basis. "After they reached maturity, I harvested the whole stock, and none of the fish weighed less than two kilograms," she said.

These impressive results encouraged Sheila and her husband to plunge into catfish farming.

Saving the Wetlands

The Siteko Wetlands Self-Help Organization was established in 1999. The group has 40 members, 30 of whom are women.

According to its chairman, Nicholas Oundo, the formation of the organization came as an answer to checking the destruction of their wetlands, which is a source of livelihood for the local community.

"There was severe destruction of the vegetation within the wetlands and surrounding areas resulting in soil erosion and poor water quality. This contributed to an increase in cases of waterborne diseases," said Oundo.

He explained that high levels of poverty had led to encroachment on the wetlands by people who harvest papyrus. This plant forms the bulk of the wetlands vegetation and is highly sought after, due to its good quality as a raw material for weaving handicrafts.

Being a natural habitat for the catfish, the wetlands was also targeted by fishermen from Lake Victoria as a source of fingerlings, which are used in baiting the Nile perch in the lake. "The Lake Victoria Nile perch fetches high prices in the export market; thus its high demand had led to over-fishing of fish used for baiting, compelling fishermen to look for alternative sources," explained Oundo.

Realizing that fishermen were willing to pay dearly for catfish fingerlings, people residing near the wetlands had almost wiped out the wetlands' stock. The hunt for the fingerlings also caused severe destruction of the dwindling wetlands vegetation.

Remedial Measures

Unfortunately, the particular species of catfish found in the region is a non-prolific breeder, hence it was unable to replenish itself fast enough to meet demand. Consequently, it was facing the prospect of turning into a rare species.

To reverse the trend, Oundo said their organization liaised with relevant government departments and embarked on educating the community on wetlands conservation.

To curb of the spread of water-borne diseases, the organization constructed covered water springs with the assistance of the World Bank and the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP). The objective of LVEMP is to manage the lake's ecosystem for the sustainable utilization of its resources in order to enhance the socio-economic development of riparian communities.

To prevent further destruction of the wetlands, the group explored ways of establishing sustainable income-generating activities.

Fish farming was identified as a convenient, sustainable, and viable activity for locals to pursue. Fish is a major and affordable source of protein for many communities in the region. By engaging in aquaculture, the Siteko community found a ready market for both mature fish and fingerlings, and at the same time spared the wetlands from destruction. The organization constructed eight ponds, which had a capacity of over 25,000 fish, on the edge of the wetlands. The aim was to meet the demand for approximately 2.7 million juvenile catfish required annually for use as bait in Lake Victoria and to harvest mature catfish to sell directly to consumers.

The organization's chairman said that they had initially populated the ponds with both catfish and tilapia species, whose fingerlings they had obtained from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development. They eventually realized that the tilapia were so highly prolific that feeding them was posing a problem.

Consequently, members of the group focused on catfish because it had a very high demand. Catfish also has a high growth rate and is resistant to handling and stress.

Propagation

But profitable as it may be, catfish lacks the ability to take care of its young ones and rarely breeds in captivity because of conditions such as variations in water temperature. To ensure a continued supply of fingerlings and mature fish, the group liaised with the Fisheries Department and LVEMP to train members on techniques of inducing the fish to reproduce.

In the wild, catfish breed during the rainy season. They migrate to flooded shallow grassy verges of streams, rivers, and lakes where they breed.

Busia district deputy fisheries officer Peter Nyongesa said there are two methods that can be employed to induce the catfish to breed. The first is to manipulate the pond habitat to mimic some important qualities in the fish's natural environment. The second is to inject the fish with hormones to stimulate spawning. Nyongesa said that the Siteko Wetlands organization's members have received thorough training on the propagation of the catfish using hormones.

Mastery of the propagation method has enabled the Siteko Wetlands Self-Help group to supply fingerlings to its members and non-members, to enable them to establish their own fish farms as well to meet the needs of Lake Victoria fishermen.

Phyllis Omoit, another official of the organization, said that members are also taught how to prepare fish feed using available resources. Most of the feed is derived from farm by-products. For instance, farmers who practice livestock farming alongside fish farming can use dung to induce production of planktons, tiny aquatic animals and plants that fish feed on. Waste from the kitchen, maize bran, and weeds from the garden are some of the cheap and readily available feeds that farmers utilize.

Major Impact

An improved communal water spring. The Siteko community organization works in collaboration with relevant government departments and non-governmental organizations in improving sanitation and conserving the environment.

The project, said Omoit, has had a positive impact on the lives of the group's members. Apart from providing income, fish farming has helped improve nutrition in the area because members now have access to affordably priced fish, which is a major source of protein.

The project has been a beacon of hope for locals. It has not only attracted visitors keen on learning about fish farming from various parts of Kenya, but also from neighboring countries such as Uganda and Tanzania. Researchers from local and foreign universities also flock to their training site to carry out research on the life of catfish.

Members say that they share their knowledge and skills on catfish farming and wetlands conservation with members of communities living in similar ecological zones.

The group is equally involved in environmental activities, such as agroforestry on the wetlands edges, spring water protection, horticulture, HIV/AIDS awareness, and natural fiber and handcraft production.

Declining Stocks

In Kenya, the national fish production updates indicate there has been a decline in fish caught in the country's lakes for the past decade. The updates indicate that the trend has sharply risen in the last four years. Reduction in fish species diversity in Lake Victoria, which provides 90 percent of the annual national production, the degradation of the fish habitat, and the spread of aquatic weeds such as the water hyacinth have been cited as the major causes of the decline in per capita supply of fish.

In addition, over-fishing caused by an influx of fishermen to the country's lakes because of unemployment has been blamed for the bad state of affairs. A recent report on Lake Victoria released by the Kenyan Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development indicates that the Kenyan part of the lake, which is only 6 percent of the lake's area, has 55,000 fishermen, which is more than double the recommended figure.

Demand for fish continues to rise with the increase in population. With a decline in fish obtained from their natural habitat, fish farming is likely to expand.

More Efforts Required

Kenya has a great potential for fish farming. Mbugua Mwangi, an aquaculturist from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, said that the country has 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) suitable for aquaculture, but only 0.014 percent is currently in use.

"A majority of the farmers practice aquaculture as a traditional activity, oblivious to the great potential it possesses. This has resulted in slow aquaculture growth," he explained. About 95 percent of fish farming in Kenya is done on a small scale.

Mbugua added that his ministry has endeavored to provide extension services to enable farmers to rear various species of fish for commercial purposes. These species include catfish and trout. He pointed out that another area that they are focusing on is marine fish farming in the Indian Ocean of species such as tuna. The activity, he said, can be carried out by enclosing fish in floating cages near the shores of the ocean. "We want to empower both large and small scale farmers by training them in husbandry and providing them with information on how to market their products, including sources of microcredit to expand their enterprises," Mbugua stressed.

Through such an initiative, Mbugua believes Kenya will be able to boost rural development by diversifying agricultural products and ensuring steady incomes and profits for farmers. Furthermore, the initiative will create jobs and will preserve wild fish stocks by relieving pressure on them and by conserving the environment.