Kenyan Fisheries Officer Training at the Asian Institute Of Technology — an HCPI Exchange Project Success Story Betty Nyandat, Yang Yi

Fisheries Department recognized need for training prior to initiation of the HCPI Exchange Project Exchange Project workshop in Thailand presented a great opportunity to set up training at AIT Introduction

Aquaculture production in Kenya stagnant at ~1000 t/yr since 1985 — WHY? On-farm trials showed that farmers could increase their production from 0.1MT/ha to 3.5MT/ha Training identified as the key missing ingredient Justification:

Insufficient supply of seed Poor quality seed Unavailability of affordable quality feed Other key challenges:

“Tilapia and Catfish Seed Production and Aquaculture Feed Technology” Organized by Aquaculture and Aquatic Resource Management (AARM) at AIT Took place from May Based on aquaculture research work done at AIT for more than a decade Emphasis on recent developments in tilapia and catfish seed production techniques the Training

Four officers selected for training: Rachel Kamau Sagana Fish Farm, Central Province Tom Ojuok Wakhungu Fish Farm, Western Province Moses Munialo Kabonyo Fish Farm, Nyanza Province Leonard Kundu Chwele Fish Farm, Western Province

The officers were responsible for their own learning process and enjoyed an active interaction and information exchange among themselves and trainers A hands-on approach to all aspects of seed production technology for both tilapia and catfish proved to be invaluable to the officers the Training (continued)

Hands-on training obtained on catfish propagation will be fully utilized by farmers Catfish farmers are currently being organized into clusters under the Kenya Business Development Services Program, another USAID- funded project Benefits to Kenya (continued)

Team Recommendations : Adopt hormonal sex reversal techniques to produce all male tilapia populations Use hapa nets for fry nursing to reduce mortalities and contamination in open ponds

Team Recommendations (continued) Consider using locally available feed ingredients based on dietary requirements of different fish species Use live feeds such as Moina for catfish larvae to obtain faster growth and higher survival rates of fry, and consider how our catfish farmers can produce their own live feeds

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