Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Aquaculture & Fisheries

Aquaculture makes an important contribution to livelihoods, economic development and food security in Africa (Quagrainie, Amisah and Ngugi, 2009). The effective start of aquaculture in most of sub- Saharan Africa was, in the 1950s, under the impetus of the various colonial administrations. The Abuja Declaration on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture called for increased fish production, focusing more on aquaculture promotion and development (Kaliba et al., 2007). It is increasingly recognized that promoting aquaculture as a business could yield adequate and solid benefits from the sector, and thereby leading to its sustainable development. Similar to many countries in Africa, aquaculture production in Kenya has been low and stagnated over the past decade (Hetch, 2006). The slow progress of aquaculture growth in sub-Saharan Africa has been attributed to institutional, biotechnical and economic factors (Hecht, 2006). Rural fish farming in Kenya dates back to the 1940s and was popularized in the 1960s by the Kenya Government through the “Eat More Fish Campaign”. The number of small-scale farmers increased and peaked at about 20,000 in 1985, with annual production of slightly over 1,000 tonnes (Aloo and Ngugi, 2005). [Note that this is the first three paragraphs of the introduction.]

NOP 17-374 (English)