Assessment of Establishment and Management of Organic Fish Farming in Kenya: A Case Study of Kiambu District

Abstract

Aquaculture is an important farming activity practised in Kenya. Kenya is the largest consumer of fish and fish products in East Africa. Fish is considered one of the healthiest sources of protein and thus increasingly the growth of fish will enhance the availability and subsequent consumption of this very important type of food. The research adopted a descriptive design in its methodology. The study population comprised of 124 fish farmers and 10 staff from the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network Offices and the Ministry of fishery. The data was analysed using statistical tools which included: frequency, percentages, means and standard deviations. The study concluded that due to the perishable nature of fish, farmers need to be trained to minimise losses before the fish gets to the market. The government should construct fish cooling and processing plants in these areas to preserve the products. Installation of fish pellet production machines for ready fish production is important. Policies should also be designed to enable the strengthening of organic produce, and the dissemination of organic technologies among the small scale producers.

Keywords: Fish farming, Organic farming, Aquaculture