Kenya farmers harvest new crop

IN a move to address climate change, drought and food security challenges, farmers in rural areas of Kisumu, Kenya, are adapting by harvesting fish.

As part of a project organised by the international development group World Neighbors, farmers dig large, plastic lined ponds to retain precious rainwater.

Into the ponds they put tilapia and other fish. Some of the ponds hold up to 1,000 fish.

Pond water is replenished from tanks that store additional captured rainwater. To keep it clean, water is periodically pumped from a pond, with solar powered pumps.

The pumped water, which contains nutrients from fish waste, is then used in drip irrigation systems to water multiple crops, including kale.

And the inedible parts of the vegetables, as well as some kitchen waste, are in turn used as fish feed.

It is a low cost, sustainable and scalable system that provides more than enough vegetables and fish for a farm family, said World Neighbors.

Surplus is sold in local markets, and profits are used in a collective savings and credit programme that provides working capital for additional fish ponds, pumps, rainwater storage tanks, and so on. World Neighbors provides the training and support for the project, which it says could be applied in other communities with limited water and sources of affordable protein.