Aqua Shops move towards official launch in early February
12 January 2011

Tweet   

The first six RIU-supported Aqua Shops, being established in western Kenya by FARM-Africa, will be officially launched in early February.

The business model is also being developed with good progress towards identification of an Aqua Shop franchisor which will oversee the operation of the franchises.

Ahead of the launch the Aqua Shop team are making significant progress on a variety of fronts:

Quality of fish farm inputs

• In December RIU reported that six franchisees had been selected to run the Aqua Shops. They have received training and have been introduced to potential input producers.
• An assessment of fish farming inputs showed considerable variation in quality. Specifications and standards for all inputs to be sold through Aqua Shops have been developed in collaboration with the Kenya Bureau of Standards. This means that customers of the Aqua Shops can be certain of the quality of products they purchase.
• Linkages have been established with four fish seed suppliers: Jewlet Enterprises, Telo Enterprises, Mwea Aquafarm and Awino Fish feeds.

Training and information for farmers

• 72 farmers have been organised into eight clusters and have been trained in fish husbandry and business development. The aim is eventually to have six clusters operating around each Aqua Shop.
• The University of Sterling has completed an assessment of the information needs of fish farmers and produced a list of information materials to be provided by the Aqua Shops.
• Two training manuals have been produced - one on business planning and management, and a second on all the fish farming products detailing their specifications and usage.
• Information has been provided to RIU partner ShujaazFM to support the development of fish farming storylines.

Training of future franchisees

• Moi University the only university in Kenya that provides a purely fisheries related degree, has been contracted to put together a curriculum that combines business, aquaculture products and information materials to be used during training of future Aqua Shop franchisees.

Ian Maudlin, Director of RIU, said:

"RIU has invested in a number of fish farming initiatives. Similar issues have emerged in each case.

RIU Nigeria has been working closely with feed producers and the farmers who supply them. This is to overcome the problem of poor quality fish feed, most of which is imported. We are also seeing important work on standards. RIU Malawi has been developing standards and guidelines for fingerling producing hatcheries. Our colleagues in the Aqua Shops have been looking at detailed specifications for fish farming inputs and producing guides on fish farm management. This seems to be building up into a useful body of work. Now we at RIU need to look at what these programmes can learn from each other to really consolidate this investment.

I look forward to seeing the Aqua Shops fully operational with their clusters of active farmers in place and I am also pleased to see the steady progress being made towards a sustainable business model".