Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, sustains the livelihoods of over 50 million people across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, the highly perishable nature of fish, coupled with the intensifying impacts of climate change, such as rising temperatures and high rainfalls threatens fish preservation and storage jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions.
Dr. Romanus Opiyo and Rahma Adam of WorldFish at the launch of equipment for fish preservation, processing and display to promote climate-smart fisheries and resilient livelihoods for local communities in Migori and Homabay counties.
Photo: Lawrence Nzuve.
As part of the engagement on Kenya’s blue economy and bioeconomy, SEI Africa is collaborating with WorldFish to support the County Governments of Homa Bay and Migori to develop policies for promoting climate-smart fisheries in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya. SEI Africa staff Dr. Philip Osano and Dr. Romanus Opiyo together with researchers from WorldFish and Muranga University have been working with fisheries sector officials from Homa Bay and Migori to undertake research on the impacts of climate change, and solutions for waste management in the fisheries value chain.
This collaborative project is aimed to tackle one of the main challenges facing fishing communities in the region: food safety, fish loss, and fish preservation. A multistakeholder workshop held in Migori County in 2023 brought together key stakeholders in the sector. It informed a Discussion Brief examining the impacts of climate change on the livelihoods of fisher communities in the Lake Victoria region.
Subsequently, WorldFish has introduced solar tent dryers, fish smoking kilns, and solar-powered freezers as demonstrations to the fishing communities in Kenya’s Lake Victoria region as part of the CGIAR Initiative on Aquatic Foods, Ukama Ustawi: Diversification for Resilient Agribusiness Ecosystems in East and Southern Africa, and CGIAR Gender Impact Platform.
This CGIAR article explores how these innovative solutions are improving the lives of women, who are heavily involved in the fisheries post-harvest activities, by mitigating these challenges and surpassing the limitations of traditional methods.
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