Fishing communities at Ogal Beach push for key upgrades  

Residents and fishermen at Ogal Landing Site, in Seme Sub County, Kisumu County have registered strong disappointment over the omission of critical infrastructure in the construction of the Sh. 150 million ultra-modern fish landing site project.

The infrastructure is funded through the Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP), a joint initiative between the Government of Kenya and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) designed to boost aquaculture production and improve livelihoods.

Ogal Beach Management Unit (BMU) chairperson Moses Owino, speaking during a stakeholders’ field visit and physical inspection of the project, raised critical concerns regarding omissions from the original project designs and administrative delays.

“We are incredibly grateful to the ABDP programme for gifting us this modern landing site and the fish cages. They represent a massive leap forward for our community. However, our joy is incomplete because vital components we were promised have been left out,” Owino highlighted.

According to the BMU representative, the omission of a landing jetty poses critical structural challenges that undermine development in the lakeshore community.

The jetty and a restaurant, he said, were both featured in the project’s initial master plans but are excluded in the implementation phase.

“Without a proper jetty, docking and offloading fish catches safely remains a major challenge,” he said.

Further, the community members expressed frustrations over a lengthy administrative bottleneck to restock the cages with fingerlings. “Despite receiving modern fish cages over eight months ago, the cages remain empty and unstocked, stalling potential revenue generation for local families,” Owino pointed out.

Once fully operational, the landing site will serve as aggregation centres, providing ample cold storage facilities to help fisherfolk preserve their catch while they seek out markets.

At the same time, the community expressed deep gratitude for the investments made so far, noting that the project is poised to transform the local blue economy.

IFAD’s Senior Global Technical Specialist for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Dr Richard Abila, acknowledged the issues and emphasised the need for seamless logistics to make the project a success.

Further, ABDP also plans to construct ultra-modern fish landing sites at Kusa and Asat beaches to support local fisherfolk and strengthen the entire fish value chain.

by Robert Ojwang’