Go Fish: Farmers turn to fishing to replace tobacco farming
Tobacco farming failed to live up to its promise of income for farmers in Kenya. Tobacco buyers often cheated farmers, paying less than pre-agreed prices once the farmers had the crops harvested. The tobacco depleted their soil and the exploitive trade practices stole their livelihoods. Farmers worked hard all year but their families still went hungry.
Elizabeth Mogore Nyanokwi (left) 43 years old widow with seven children, grew tobacco for cash.
Copyright © Gideon Mendel/ Corbis/ ActionAid
ActionAid partnered with local farmers in Kuria to develop a sustainable fish farm. With training and a small grant from ActionAid and with an investment of their own resources, a group of eight men and eight women, aged 18 to 36 years, pooled their efforts to pilot the project in four fish ponds stocked with 200 fingerlings.
By negotiating as a group, they secured their stock at a fair price and, in turn, negotiated the sales from their pond to local buyers at a reasonable, livable price.
John Bernard Gisiori, 35, married with four children, says the small project he started with about 600 Kenyan Shillings (US$ 8.5), has turned out to be a source of profit to the community as the sale of the fish and fingerlings has grown.
Fish for sale at market
Copyright © Candace Feit/ActionAid
“The income from fish farming has enabled me to send my children to school and provide my family with adequate meals and clothing,” says Gisiori.
“As members we support each other and we have access to loans from the group money which enables us solve some of our immediate problems like paying school fees for our children,” says Stephen Maswagira , chairperson of the group.
