George Muga is the founder and director of Muga Fish Farm.
The fish farm was established in 2010 as a grow out farm but later reorganized to be a fingerlings nursing farm in partnership with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Come 2013, the farm had grown and started producing its own fingerlings making it among the largest fingerlings producers in Kenya.
Here is Muga’s story as told by WoK.
Muga took up fish farming as a hobby in 2002 but he ventured into it fully in 2007 after making a lump-sum amount of money after selling some fish.
In an interview with Fish Site, the former accountant said he sold some catfish for Ksh 40,000 igniting his interest in commercial fish farming.
By 2010, Muga had quit his accounting job in local NGO organisations to venture fully into fish farming.
He also started his own hatchery after constant frustrations and delays from hatcheries in Kisumu where he bought his fingerlings from.
“…because of shortage fuelled by cage fish farming boom, I had to wait for several days before I received my orders. Tired of such frustrations, I then decided to start my own hatchery,” Muga said.
He spent about Ksh 65,000 to set up a hatchery and housing unit measuring 5m by 4m.
Muga also underwent trainings, including one with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to understand more about fish farming.
“When FAO visited my farm in 2014, they asked whether I had thought of nurturing fingerlings to generate more income. I gathered courage and threw myself into the hatchery business,” he said.
Over the years, Muga has expanded to have four fish ponds measuring 300 metres each producing 300,00 tilapia fingerlings per month, 5,000 catfish fingerlings per month and tilapia broodstock.
“Our primary focus is on cultivating tilapia, driven by the substantial demand in comparison to catfish,” he said.
Additionally, Muga Fish Farm offers other services including pond construction, training and mentorship.
“As part of our commitment to supporting women and youth in aquaculture, we established the Kendu Aquaculture Youth Group in 2017, currently comprising 12 active members. This group, trained by our farm, has successfully constructed over 40 ponds,” Muga said.
The fish farm sells fingerlings to local cage-based fish farmers around Lake Victoria and pond-based farmers across Kenya.
“As for table-sized fish, we operate a small depot where our harvested fish are stored, allowing customers to purchase fish directly,” Muga said.
