Management practices, farmers’ perceptions and coping strategies and challenges to climate change in integrated fish farms in Kenya

Abstract

Climate change continues to threaten the sustainability of aquaculture systems due to the dependence of this sector on water resources which are threatened in a changing climate.  There is therefore need to continually assess the current farm level practices with a view to developing the right policies and to make the necessary changes. A study was done to assess the management practices, perceptions, coping strategies and challenges of coping with climate change on integrated fish farms in Kajiado and Machakos Counties in Kenya. Data were collected from 51 and 186 integrated fish farms in Kajiado and Machakos Counties, respectively. A cross-sectional household survey was done using semi-structured questionnaires to collect the data. The data were validated using meteorological data, four key informants’ interviews and a focus group discussion with 17 farmers in each County. Most of the household heads were males (80.4% in Kajiado County and 80.1% in Machakos County) and Oreochromis niloticus was the main fish species cultured by 78.4% and 79% of households in Kajiado and Machakos Counties, respectively. The integrated fish farms were able to outsource manure and crop residues from neighbouring farms for their potential use in compost heat recovery as a coping strategy to climate change. Most of the respondents reported the occurrence of extreme changes in precipitation (rainfall and hailstorms) and temperature. Only 11.8% and 9.14% of respondents in Kajiado and Machakos Counties, respectively, reported a decrease in ambient night temperature. The farmers adopted climate change coping strategies such as topping up fishpond water and covering the fishponds with a shade net. The challenges faced by fish farmers with regard to coping with climate change were inadequate funds, skills, and water resources. It is recommended that further training of fish farmers on potential coping strategies such as compost heat recovery should be carried out.