KAKAMEGA FISH FACTORY RATED BEST IN KENYA

Kakamega Fish Factory has been rated the best in the Country in terms of compliance to European standards; barely days after the County won four trophies in the just concluded National Annual Review Stakeholders Workshop that was held in Tharaka Nithi County for the IFAD-ABDP implementing counties.

This was announced by an inspection team from Aquaculture Business Development Program (ABDP)- IFAD led by Mr. Kelly Owila, the Programme Fisheries Officer from Kisumu Regional office, during a tour of the Lutonyi based facility in Lurambi Sub-County on Tuesday.

The ABDP team affirmed that the facility is fit for fish aggregation, warehousing and international fish export in accordance with the European Union Standards.

The factory that has a capacity of processing over 15,000 tonnes of fish in a day is one of the four facilities that were constructed under the 2008-2012 Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) and has since come up as a major processor of fish earning farmers from Kakamega County and beyond the much needed income to improve their living standards and creating wealth among residents as envisioned by H.E FCPA Governor Fernandes Barasa’s wealth creation agenda.

The other fish factories established together with the Kakamega based one are located in Meru, Nyeri and Migori Counties.

According to the Chief Officer for Fisheries Ms. Jessica Wesonga, the rating is a welcome gesture that will guarantee market for fish farmers in Kakamega County and the larger Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB).

Present in the meeting was IFAD-ABDP County Programme Coordinator Mr. Norman Munala and ABDP’s Programme Fisheries Officer Ms. Susan Odinga and Mr Stanley Tonui, a Fish Inspector from the Kenya Fisheries Service Kisumu Regional Office