Licking fingers from fish farming

By JECKONIA OTIENO

On any normal day, Mzee Michael Waswi’s peers are busy playing ajua or drinking chang’aa in the local dens of Ndere, Siaya County; but you won’t find him among them. Instead, he keeps himself busy rearing fingerlings in his ponds beside Mudurme Stream, about 6km from Siaya town along the Siaya-Busia Road.

Since he discovered the fish business, Waswi, 60, regrets he did not know about it earlier. For many years, he worked as a builder of huts and semi-permanent houses for locals but he had nothing to show for his labour.

In retrospective, he says, he wasted his life working for people who didn’t appreciate professionalism and reward it accordingly.

"My clients wasted me," he simply sums up his life as a builder.

LIFE STARTS AT 60: For many years, Mzee Waswi was exploited as a builder but now he is an expert in fish farming and savours every moment of it. [PHOTOS: JECKONIA OTIENO/STANDARD]

He started fish farming 12 years ago when he built a small pond in which he reared tilapia fingerlings, sourced from Dominion Farms in Kanyaboli, Siaya. As the fingerlings matured, Waswi constructed a large pond and nurtured them to maturity. And in the process, he became an instant employer.

"I employed nine people whom I paid Sh2,000 each in just ten days," Waswi recalls.

The casual labourers built the large pond where fingerlings are transferred once they overgrow the nursery. Later on, he contracted other people to build another pond which is connected to the main pond through a pipe. It is in this third pond that fingerlings from the nursery are placed so that they just cross over when ready to venture into deeper waters. The main pond contains around 20,000 fish. And that is talking about a tidy sum of moneywhen he sells the fish, for a mature tilapia fetches him Sh150.

When it is time for harvest, he hardly has time to breathe as buyers flock the pond before sunrise.

In addition, Waswi has become a fish trader to reckon with. Other fish farmers buy fingerlings from him.

Among his clients, he says, is the Siaya Municipal Council mayor whom he sold 3,000 fingerlings to start his own pond.

Waswi says when he started his business, he would feed his school of fish on ugali and flour but with increased capital, he sought advice from the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in Siaya. The ministry taught him about commercial fish feeds and from that time, he uses tilapia mash.

In his long interaction with fish, he has become some kind of ‘expert’ in fish farming. He says the best way to feed fish is through conditioning.

"They should know at what time and place they eat so that they can go for a walk and return during meals," he jokes. He feeds his fish in midmorning and late afternoon.

Waswi says a good fish takes two years to mature contrary to popular belief that six months are sufficient.

In his disarming way, he says, with a glint in his eye, that he is now offering lessons on fish farming to young fisheries officers.

And many people seek his expert advice on fish. "I set the trend," he says, "and other farmers have no choice but follow me."

Waswi has been recognised for being an enthusiastic farmer who is passionate about fish. The fisheries office in Siaya awarded him a spade, hoe, T-shirt and two 90kg bags of fish feeds.

Since he started fish farming, Waswi says confidently, he doesn’t know hunger pangs any more. He feeds his family of 15 children, two wives and several grandchildren comfortably.

In his jocular way, Waswi says he doesn’t fear that someone could steal his fingerlings or fish at night. Besides spending 18 hours at the ponds daily, he uses charms to ‘protect’ his water empire.

Says the local Coptic Orthodox Church leader: "I also use traditional charms to protect my property."