Fishermen cite unfulfilled promises after 10 years of devolution
Fishing boats loaded with sardines (omena) dock at Litare Beach in Mbita, Hom Bay County on May 7, 2022.
The fishing community in Luo Nyanza counties feels let down by governors, who have failed to establish a fish processing plant in the region after a decade of devolution.
Three founding Luo Nyanza governors will exit office after the August 9 elections without accomplishing what seemed to be the most urgent need for fishermen in the region.
Since independence, the Nyanza region has been viewed as a fishing industry hub but because it was perceived as an opposition stronghold, the national government never established such facilities there.
Most fishermen rely on middlemen, who they feel are exploiting them by buying fish at relatively low prices.
At the onset of devolution, four founding governors in the Luo Nyanza counties – Mr Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Mr Okoth Obado (Migori), Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay) and Mr Cornel Rasanga (Siaya) – had plans to establish fish processing plants for value addition.
Lake Victoria accounts for over 75 per cent of the inland freshwater fish produced in Kenya, while the sector employs over 500,000 people directly and several others indirectly.
Middlemen remain the immediate market for fishermen, who either get the fish directly from the lake or from fish cages established in many parts of the lake.
High expectations
“The most common fish in our lake are tilapia and Nile perch, popularly known as mbuta, and many fishermen are specialised in catching them. Other than the local small-scale traders who buy fish from us, there are middlemen who buy them in bulk,” said Mr Michael Owino, a fisherman from the Uhanya beach in Bondo sub-county, Siaya.
He added: “The highest amount that a farmer can get for a kilo of fish is Sh300, which can be improved if we had a facility to add value. We had high expectations from the pioneer governors but they failed to meet the standards.”
His sentiments were echoed by Mr Joseph Ouma, who is also a fisherman and an investor in cage fishing.
“The lake has a huge potential. We can produce thousands of tonnes when we know that the returns would be good. Sometimes we sell fish at very low prices because we must and if we fail we would run at losses,” he noted.
Lake Victoria produced 90,743 metric tonnes of fish, way below the potential, said a 2021 report from the State Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Blue Economy.
Value addition would allow fishermen to earn more because of the variety of products that can be made from fish, said Ms Seline Awino, an economist in Kisumu County.
Value addition
“Nile perch is one of the most common types of fish in Lake Victoria. However, with value addition, fishermen will earn from the flesh, skin, bones and the swim bladder. The swim bladder has the highest market value of all,” she noted.
In the 10 years of devolution, perennial post-fishing losses that fishermen incur have been rising and this partly pushes them to sell their products at relatively low prices.
“Fish is a highly perishable product and as such the value decreases with time. For fishermen to be safe, they are forced to sell it at the prevailing market price,” Ms Awino said.
“If there was a fish processing plant established in any of the counties that add value to the fish, the fishermen would get better returns.”
