This archive report was first published on 16 December 2019.
Lack of Cold Storage Main Cause of Food Loss in Fishing Sector ¶
December 16, 2019
The fishing industry in Kenya's coastal region is a significant source of employment, income, and protein for the local diet. However, the industry's growth and contribution to poverty eradication and wealth creation have been hindered by the constraints it faces, particularly food loss.
According to Irene Mwaura, Project Officer-Energy and Climate Change at WWF-Kenya, 'food loss and food waste is a global challenge.' In East Africa's coastal regions, post-harvest food loss is estimated to be between 25-35%, while in warmer months, it can reach as high as 60-80% due to the lack of cold storage facilities.
As a result, fishermen are forced to sell their catch at throwaway prices or risk spoilage of the entire stock. Value addition processes and equipment also remain largely poor and ineffective, especially in developing economies.
During a visit to the Kiwayu and Ngomeni Beach Management Units (BMU), the chairmen and members noted that the most prominent issue was the lack of cold storage facilities, which ultimately leads to food loss. Fishermen from both sites faced similar challenges, including lack of freezers, expensive transport costs, middlemen exploiting the fishermen, and lack of ready markets for competitive pricing.
Hashim Lale, Chairman of Kiwaiyu BMU, stated, 'the main issue in our unit is the maintenance of our storage unit as well as lack of enough space to avoid the fish from rotting.' He added that in a good day, the fishermen get a lot of fish but have to sell at throwaway prices because they do not have enough storage facilities.
Farouq Amin, Chairman of Ngomeni BMU, said that most of his fishermen incur losses because they are forced to dry fish as opposed to selling them while fresh to avert food loss. When you dry the fish, you sell it at Ksh 30 per kg as opposed to Ksh 200 per kg when it's fresh.
WWF has assisted the communities to sustain themselves by educating them about the environment, educating the children in the community, enlightening the community on how to pull resources to put into other projects, and providing some fishermen with fishing equipment.
Additionally, major infrastructure projects underway within the seascape, including new roads and a deepwater port, are also causing disruption to the fishermen. The ships while crossing over rip the fishing nets and do not compensate for the damage caused, leading to some of the fishers docking their boats due to lack of equipment.
