Life has changed dramatically for Saul since the days he earned his living as a low-paid taxi driver in Kisumu, Kenya. After hearing about Farm Africa’s project training local farmers to take up fish farming, he has set up a successful business with his wife Janet.
We encouraged enterprising farmers with some capital to set up aqua shops to provide fish farmers with all the equipment, baby fish and fish food they needed.
Saul and Janet opened Funyula Aqua Shop in Samia district after receiving Farm Africa’s business training
.
Thriving business
Janet said: “Business is good and life has changed. I look forward to the future. We plan to open another aqua shop in Butula and employ someone to work there. We will train them in all the things we have learnt from Farm Africa.”
Saul now regularly provides fish farming supplies to 300 local fish farmers and also offers a popular advice service. With more and more local people learning how to become successful fish farmers, his customer base is growing.
Aquaculture
At harvest time, Saul arranges for an aqua culture merchant to collect farmers’ fish. Farmers are paid in cash on the day of collection. The best price Saul has negotiated for farmers so far is 180 shillings (£1.17) per kilo.
After just a year, Saul could afford to buy some land of his own on which he ha constructed three fish ponds.
He is now raising tilapia and catfish and would like to have at least ten ponds. Farm Africa has also trained him to process fish to make it more valuable, and he is considering gutting fish to increase their value, as the guts can be used as a good natural fertiliser.
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