Why not turn that abandoned, killer quarry pit into fish pond?

It looks like a small lake from far, with the water sprawling over a large area of the five-acre farm in Konyet, Uasin Gishu County.

A gently blowing wind causes ripples on the surface of the water creating a beautiful pattern.

With the rains having ended recently, one would admire the farmer for having harvested plenty of water to use all-year round.

But this is a fish pond, one of the largest in the area, run by Konyet Self-Help Group.

The group converted a once abandoned quarry into a fish pond in an area that fish is not one of the economic activities, and the members are now supplying the delicacy to markets in the region.

Julius Langat, a member of the group, sits on an improvised ‘boat’ fastened from a tyre tube as he paddles using his legs to steer it from one end of the pond to another.

In his hand is a gill net, held on one side by three group members standing on the edge of the pond. He meticulously spreads it over the water and as he drags it towards them, a number of tilapia fish are caught.

“The fish usually prefer the shallow end of the pond because it is warmer especially at times like this when the weather is cold,” says Langat, who repeats the process using a rectangular net.

The group started the venture in 2016 by first cleaning the pond and removing debris that was still inside. They then fenced it before stocking the pond with 4,000 fingerlings, each which cost them Sh7.

“We bought the fingerlings from Jewlet Fish Farm in Kendu Bay and then introduced them into the pond which one of our members Alex Arusei donated,” says Langat.

The pond sits on part of Arusei’s five acres, from where he used to mine stones that were used in the building of a tarmac road in the region.

“I did not know what to do with the part of the farm after the contract ended. The pit had also become a menace,” says Arusei, noting initially they were into tent business before they diversified into agribusiness.

FEEDING THE FISH

“We started with 13 members but we have grown the number to 27; comprising of seven young men, 14 women and six elderly men.”

So, what whetted their appetite to go into fish farming? “Eight members of the group went for training at a hotel in Eldoret town organised by an NGO and this served as an eye-opener. Fish is not reared in this area and neither is it a delicacy, but we fell in love with it,” says Langat.

Most of the members of the group were maize farmers, with the likes of Langat growing it for over two decades. Having suffered poor prices in the market, the Konyet members yearned for a different agribusiness.

They feed the fish twice a day, in the mornings and evenings, with feeds containing cotton cake, bran and shelled omena that they buy from agrovets.

“We give the fish 4kg of feeds a day (2kg in the morning and the rest in the evening). A 50 kg bag goes at Sh2,000 and we buy three times in a month which is enough for the fish,” Kirwa Songol, the group’s treasurer explains, adding that they hope to formulate own feeds to lower costs.

From their first harvest, the group got 1,000 pieces of fish that they sold fish at between Sh150 and Sh200.

“Most of the fish registered slow growth due to low temperatures, besides, we were new in the trade, which saw us make some mistakes that saw a good number of fingerlings die,” said Songol.

So far, they have harvested thrice but one of the challenges they have faced is over-population in the ponds since they failed to rear the tilapia with catfish.

“We have learnt have learnt that we need to introduce catfish in the pond so that it helps control tilapia population. This way, we would achieve bigger fish,” he says.

Samuel Kitur, the group’s chairperson, says their plan is to stock and breed fingerlings then supply to the farmers, besides selling mature fish.

“We have identified another such abandoned quarry (about half-an-acre) which we want to stock with fingerlings. We want to increase so that some members of the group will take charge of the pond.”

SHIFT FROM RED MEAT

Evans Machuka, the Uasin Gishu county senior assistant fisheries officer, observes quarries are good cites for fish farming as long as they have water all-year-round.

“The water levels should not be affected by the dry spell. And domestic animals should not be allowed to drink water directly since they are likely to leave their waste which will in turn overfertilise the waters,” says Machuka.

He adds that farmers should curb fertiliser or animal waste from running off into the ponds.

“Since most quarries don’t have outlets because initially they were not designed for breeding fish purposes, it is important to avoid manure from getting into the pond,” he says.

“There is need to avoid fertilisation of the pond since there is no outlet. But if one wants to naturally fertilise the waters so that plants can grow in the water, there must have an outlet.”

Samuel Yego, Uasin Gishu executive in-charge of Agriculture, says demand for fish is growing in the county occasioned by the shift from red meat.

“Consumers are moving away from red meat for health reasons and we want to promote fish farming so that we can take advantage of this demand.”.

He notes that the county’s production stands at less than half-a-tonne, which does not match demand in the local market.

“Most traders usually source fish from Uganda. We know that this county is not traditionally fish producing but we want to increase production and encourage groups such as Konyet.”

***

Quick glance

Creating pond from a quarry

Before creating a pond from a quarry, the area should be fenced off to prevent animals from drinking water directly and depositing their waste or people and animals from drowning in the facility.

Create a buffer zone between the pond and the farm where you are growing crops preferably grass if possible of 20 metres apart to prevent any materials/soils from reaching the pond due to run-off. One should avoid planting crops up to the shores because soils will be washed into the pond.

If growing crops, one should avoid using pesticides and fungicides in adjacent farms to avoid exposing the fish to poisonous materials.

“Plant trees preferably the indigenous ones between 10 metres and 15 metres away from the pond to avoid them from draining water from your pond and also avoid shadows since tilapia’s growth rate is temperature dependent (optimum)