Smart Fish Market In Naivasha To Boost Economy

NAKURU,Kenya, Feb , 23 – A multi million project between the Nakuru county government and the East African Green Council market to setup a smart farm is expected to improve sales and boost the livelihood of fish farmers in the county.

The Sh230 million project is set to be domiciled at Karai area along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

Already the county government is expected to conduct a fish restocking exercise in Lake Naivasha ahead of the opening of the facility in June,2022.

Fishermen and traders are expected to reap big once the facility becomes fully operational amidst the sourcing of a much larger market to complement the existing fish market in the county.

“We expect the amount of fish sold in this area will double once this market is completed by June,” said Chief of Staff in the county Njoroge Gichuhi.

For years fishmongers said that they were forced to count their losses with thousands of kilograms worth of fish being lost due to the lack of a ready market. The establishment of the smart market is however expected to change their fortunes.

According to the county government and East African Green Council market the project is expected to serve at least 500 fish traders and farmers in the county.

“We plan to restock the lake so that we can get more fish in the market and offer job opportunities to our youths who have relied on the lake,” said Naivasha sub-county administrator Samuel Wamae.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected scores of people across the country,the Nakuru county government said that a good number of youth ventured into fishing in a bid to sustain their livelihoods.

Meanwhile stakeholders have called on the county government to review the issuance of licenses to fishermen on lake Naivasha in the wake recent wake of violent protest amidst the killing of fishermen allegedly by coast guard officers in the area.