Innovations galore at Eldoret show, as greenhouse 'fish ponds' wow visitors

Uasin Gishu County Director of Fisheries John Oluoch (in black jacket) during the Eldoret Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Show. [PHOTO:KEVIN TUNOI/STANDARD]

The Eldoret Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) show was officially opened yesterday, and as expected, there were innovations galore in agriculture. One of the showstoppers that caught many exhibitors’ attention is ‘fish ponds in greenhouses’, a new technology that is every fish farmer’s dream because of its myriad benefits.

The new technology embraced by the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has been piloted in Uasin Gishu County, a region synonymous with cereals, dairy and horticulture.

The ambitious technology, referred to as Raised Aquacultural System (RAS), uses the ordinary greenhouse like those used in horticulture. The green houses are used to cover raised fish ponds constructed using timber and polythene paper that effectively hold water.

The wooden fish pond structure is designed to a desired size and then its inner walls are lined with PVC polythene bag (dam liner) to hold water. A farmer can also harvest water in areas where there is scarcity and use it for fish production.

So what are the benefits of using this new technology?

Unlike the ordinary and historic fish ponds constructed by digging marshy grounds, the raised ponds using the RAS technology can be constructed in any ground and is even mobile to enable farmers to effectively monitor the entire production process.

“This is an emerging enterprise and farmers who have embraced it as a business are already doing well,” says John Oluoch Otiengo, the Uasin Gishu County director of fisheries.

He says with the diminishing land resource, the new technology can enable farmers produce fish for food and also to enhance their income through commercialised production using the little available space even in urban areas.

“We want people including those in towns to produce food, however small their backyard is. With good management, this venture generates good earnings,” says the county official.

The technology was part of the innovations showcased at the county’s Department of Fisheries stand at the exhibition which ends today.

Uasin Gishu is a leading producer of maize, wheat, dairy and horticulture produce and is classified as the country’s food basket. The innovation befitted the theme of the exhibition –enhancing technology in agriculture and industry for food security and national growth.

Otiengo says the greenhouse provides good temperatures that can also be regulated to ensure a good growing process for fingerlings.

“With the new innovation, fish can be harvested within six months.”

According to Evans Machuka, the Kesses/Kapseret sub-county fisheries officer, tilapia and catfish (Clarias) species of fish are already being produced in Uasin Gishu County using the technology.

“Production targets can easily be achieved in fish production but under a good management. The greenhouse raised ponds can last up to five years,” says Machuka.

Machuka says with this technology, the problem of predators, which is always a big headache is sorted out.

Farmers can easily supervise production process and also harvest with a lot of ease once fish is mature.

He says water levels in the pond in monitored and whenever there is a drop due to evaporation, it is topped up to ensure there is adequate supply of oxygen.

“When water level drops, it is topped up by spraying water like rain drops to facilitate oxygen addition through ambience,” explains Machuka. Continued application of feeds on the pond, he says, and the droppings of the fish forms algae, which form a natural like environment that is conducive for fish rearing.

He adds that three to five fish grow favourably in a square metre and that for a raised pond with dimensions of 3 metres by 5 metres, an average of 100 to 150 tilapia fish can be produced. They are harvested weighing between 250 to 500 grams and sells at Sh300 each.

The official adds that 1,000 fish can thrive in the same measurement but each costs about Sh 250 thus earning the farmer more income.

He said fish requires a good management and good feeding. It uses food pellets, maize jam, maize bran, cotton seed cake and wheat pollards among others.

There is a rigorous campaign through the Aquacultural Association of Kenya (AAK) to introduce the new enterprise in the 47 counties.

“The association, which is supported by the central government aims at bringing together fish farmers to enhance production,” he says.

Fish farmers in Uasin Gishu have registered in the association and that the Uasin Gishu County government has allocated Sh 0.5 million for raw materials.

Other fascinating technologies that were on display include modern livestock and poultry breeding methods, top-range beehives among others.