[Migori, 15th August 2024]: The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), through its knowledge center, the Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya (SIB-K), and Rio Fish Farm Ltd, today hosted a highly collaborative stakeholder meeting in Migori Town. The meeting was attended by 30 participants, comprising fish farmers, traders, Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP), Miltec Engineering representatives, and Migori county government officials.
The meeting is part of a series of stakeholder engagements under the Energy Production through Integrating Climate Resilient Technologies in Fish Farming (EPIC-TFF) project funded by Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP). The project’s main intervention comprises the installation of a biodigester at the Rio Fish Limited processing plant to manage fish offal. Biogas generated from the biodigester will be utilized within the Rio Fish Farm, reducing the cost of energy consumption.
Speaking during the meeting, Mr. Dennis Kiplagat, the Senior Project Officer at SIB-K, postulated that KEPSA, as the apex body of the private sector in Kenya, aims to catalyze change and facilitate dialogues championing sustainable development. “This project is an example that KEPSA is committed to engaging in collective and concerted efforts with diverse stakeholders to reduce the ecological footprint of the private sector,” he asserted. Kiplagat stated that the project is a counter-hegemonic initiative with a high potential to provide equal socioeconomic benefits to women, youth, and other excluded groups. In addition, installing a biodigester to generate biogas from fish offal contributes to elimination of waste that poses harmful health and environmental risks.
Moreover, the project aims to determine practical strategies to uphold gender equality and social inclusion, ensuring that diverse groups in the immediate communities benefit from equitable access to information and socioeconomic opportunities. Thus, the primary objective of the meeting was to gather in-depthinsights, perspectives and concerns from the fish industry value chain players in Migori County to develop gender inclusive strategies in all the project’s interventions.
The stakeholder’s meeting explored ways the project, when scaled, could contribute to gender mainstreaming in the fish farming sector. KEPSA, through its knowledge center, the Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya (SIB-K), and Rio Fish Ltd are implementing the Biogas Plant project and have been awarded a grant by the UK Government through UK International Development to repurpose fish waste and generate biogas from fish farm waste while promoting gender mainstreaming in farm activities. The grant has been provided through the SMEP Programme (Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution Programme) and implemented in partnership with the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Speaking at the meeting, Jannet Wangusi, operations Manager at Rio Fish Farm, expressed gratitude to KEPSA and SMEP for initiating the project, a landmark initiative to address the pressing waste challenge in the fisheries value chain. Jannet affirmed that the project contributes to their ongoing efforts of knowledge dissemination and capacity-building for fish farmers to align their operations along the sustainability pathway. “The project will be an ideal and hands-on learning platform for all groups, including our youth and women, on best practices to manage fish waste,” Jannet asserted. In her sentiments, Janet emphasized the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure the optimal achievement of the project interventions.
“We must learn to re-learn, re-think, and re-do most of all our behaviors, especially where waste energy and environment are concerned. Waste not, want not” Dominic Wanjihia, Founder & CEO Biogas International
Dominic Wanjihia, a biodigester technical expert from Biogas International, took the participants through the process of setting up the technology. He noted that the project has the ability to improve fish farm processes through sustainable management of fish waste. Another crucial feedstock into the biodigester is water hyacinth, an invasive species that impedes lake and river transport in the region. Dominic reiterated that the project is a unique intervention that lowers human-environment conflict due to its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and high demand for woodfuel, exacerbating biodiversity loss.
Jeremy Kaburu, research expert at KEPSA, expressed the significance of the rallying call of “leave no one behind (LNB).” He spearheaded discussions on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, where participants discussed the challenges, opportunities, and best practices provided in Kenya’s intricate policy landscape and potential implications to the project. Migori County government officials commended the private sector for their commitment to the implementation of the project and reiterated the government’s unwavering support for providing that leave no one behind.
The successful stakeholder meeting marks a significant milestone in the journey towards realizing the full potential of the biogas project. The project is poised to create a sustainable, inclusive, and environmentally friendly fish farming ecosystem in Migori County by fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders. KEPSA remains committed to supporting initiatives that empower communities and drive positive change.
For media inquiries, please get in touch with nahashon@sustainableinclusivebusiness.org.
