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Fish Management Services
A group of fish farmers in Lake Victoria under the name of Lolwe Aquaculture Ltd teamed up to mobilize funds to invest in cage fish farming. With the support of Kisumu County through the Lakefront Development Corporation (LDC), the team has registered a joint venture company through a public private and community partnership (PPCP) called Lake Victoria Kenya Fish Limited (LVKF). LVKF has negotiated long-term lease of a fish-processing factory that was built to EU standards but has been lying idle for almost 20 years now. The Kisumu Lakefront Development Corporation (LDC) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established by Kisumu County to undertake Kisumu Lakefront Development on behalf of the County Government of Kisumu.
Lolwe Aquaculture Ltd is made up of a team of individuals from five riparian counties of L. Victoria; Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia. The team has deep concern of the socio-economic status of the region and believe aquaculture has a big potential of improving the livelihoods of this community.
Fish Demand
Why Tilapia
Tilapia is currently the second-most farmed fish in the world and the most farmed fish in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current prices are around $3.00 – $3.50/kg, a future retail price of $2.00 – Ksh2.50/kg will be more competitive. These prices require tilapia farmers to reduce their production costs to at least $1.50 – $2.00/kg. This calls not only for investments to scale up farms, but also investments along the value chain to improve genetics, hatcheries, feed ingredients, feed availability, and the application of farming technology. World Bank estimates that in 2030, aquaculture will produce half of the world’s supply of fish. In Kenya, aquaculture is estimated to account for only 24 per cent of fish consumed. According to FAO, in 2019, Eastern Africa produced 142,000 MT of wild-caught tilapia and 176,000 MT of farmed tilapia, making it the largest tilapia producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is no doubt that farmed tilapia production in Sub-Saharan Africa will grow.
Why Us
Strategic Advantage
LVKF has negotiated a 15 year lease agreement for the fish processing factory which has a carrying capacity of up to 650MT and freeze the products to up to -700C (blast freezing). The factory is a key asset for the success of the business. It will stabilize the market as fish can be harvested, stored and sold as per the market demand. Currently, the farmers are sometimes faced with perishability challenges and are either forced to sale at lower prices or keep the fish in the cages longer than necessary. The fish-processing factory where LVKF will carry out all its operations is located on the shores of L. Victoria and about 5 km from Kisumu International Airport.
Another critical asset that LVKF will procure is the marine vessel – the barge. The vessel will improve efficiency of harvesting fish and transporting it to the factory. The barge will carry ice flakes from the factory so that once fish are harvested, they are immediately cooled as they are transported back to the factory. This will ensure the cold chain is not broken. The fish will also be transported in the water without having to go through land. The Factory has a landing jetty.
Our Services
What do we do?
The core business of LVKF is aggregating fish from cage fish farmer in L. Victoria and selling this fish mainly to the local market. LVKF will also have its nuclear farm to produce the fish. The main fish that will be traded is tilapia. All the sales will be done at the factory site. The main product is therefore frozen whole tilapia fish. The Company will also lease storage space for traders who wish to access the cold storage for their products. The ice flakes will also be available for sale. The Company will also offer gutting & descaling services. The offal will be disposed to feed manufacturing industry bringing in some supplementary income.
What Clients Say
Testimonials
Our Support
Our Partners
Lolwe Aquaculture Ltd works with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in provision of much needed technical support. The company also works with Kenya Industrial Development Institute (KIRDI) in assessment and repair of facility equipment. We are in partnership with Equity Bank Limited (Kenya) which provides financial support and literacy to 53 BMUs to avoid breaks in supply chain. The County Government of Kisumu is our unwavering partner in policy, regulation and community mobilization. We are open, transparent and constantly seeking new partners and innovations.