Laban Mwanzo is the proprietor of Labedcash Marine Enterprises, a fish and fingerlings production farm in Malava, Kakamega County. He has 200 ponds which house an average of 500 fish and a hatchery that can produce up to 1 million fingerlings within three months.
For the last 17 years, Mwanzo has grown into one of the largest fish farmers in Western Kenya. Besides his farm, he also offers training to local farmers and is the chairman of the Kakamega Fish Farmers Cooperative Society which has 1,400 members.
During an interview with Business Daily, the farmer reveals that he would not have ventured into fish farming were it not for a friend who saw the huge potential that his land bore and advice him to try it out.
“My friend Dr Harrison Charo (then a director at Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) paid me a visit and saw the huge potential in my farm which is located in a swampy area with lots of stream water, adequate space for expansion and encouraged me to try fish farming,” he recounted.
Since then, Laban took up the challenge and has never looked back.
“I started with a hatchery during the Economic Stimulus Programme of 2009, a spending plan initiated by the Government of Kenya to boost economic growth and lead the Kenyan economy out of the 2007–2008 post-election crisis. I was one of those people who were privileged to be assisted by the government,” he stated.
At the time, farmers from Kakamega County sourced fingerlings from as far as Nyeri County, and so with the help of Kemri and Kenya Fisheries, Laban embarked on fingerlings production.
He did not have ready markets when he started out, but rather than feel discouraged, he would grow them and sell them as fish. This led to the establishment of the many ponds that he owns today.
Laban, however, has to limit the fingerling production so as to keep the costs in check.
“We normally produce fingerlings when there is a market or depending on the client’s demand,” he said.
Mwanzo has employed 50 workers, including 20 women who sell the fish on a commission basis.
Since fish farming is not that widespread in Western Kenya, he trains farmers before selling fingerlings to them.
“It is one thing to dig a pond and buy fingerlings but stocking and feeding is another ball game altogether.”
“The training takes a while because we have to teach farmers how to dig the ponds, do stocking and feeding. It is quite involving because a farmer may want to rear fish only to realise that feeds are not readily available in the market and when in stock, they are very expensive,” Laban explained.
For sustainance in the venture, Laban noted that they have to settle for local feeds to minimise costs. Their farmers’ cooperative is currently applying for support from the county government and other donors to help them set up a fish feeds processing company since ingredients are locally available.
He notes that this will help them mitigate the hurdle of high cost of feeds and quality.
“We are also encouraging farmers to grow crops like soybeans which is a key ingredient in fish feeds and in this way, they will also benefit from fish farming.”
Laban notes that fish farming in the country has a huge potential. He adds that awareness on the nutritional value of fish has been on the rise.
“There’s a lot of market for fish because people eat fish. One cannot go wrong with fish business,” he advises.
