idealist.org

PROJECT PROPSAL






PRESENTED TO:

DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS,THE IDEALIST IN PARTICULAR





PREPARED BY:

KARAGWE AGRICULTURAL,NATURAL RESOURCES AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION


APRIL, 2009










BACKGROUND
Lake Victoria fisheries has been the lifeline of its riparian communities since time immemorial. By 1960s the lake had over 400 species of fish and fisheries exploitation was mainly for subsistence. There was sound fisheries management practices as fish breeding sites were identified and protected. The community had complete ownership of the fisheries resources and each fisherman watched on the others to ensure proper fishing methods and ethics were maintained. Incases of fishing related conflicts the community quickly set up traditional courts where arbitration of conflicts was done.

However, after 1960s, alien fish species such as Nile tilapia and Nile perch were introduced into Lake Victoria. Nile perch soon grew in numbers predating on many native fish species of the lake. During the same period, the newly independent governments of East Africa created and strengthened fisheries departments and formulated and enforced fisheries policies technically shifting fisheries management from community to government management. Many fisheries officers and scouts were deployed in the fishing villages and took over policing of fisheries activities against spirited community opposition.

Increase in Nile perch production did not make the situation any better either. The commercial value of the fish was soon realized and many commercial fish exploiters moved into the lake by 1983 shifting Lake Victoria fisheries from subsistence to commercial based. With time as demand for fish increased worldwide, large fishing efforts were employed and this exceeded the lake’s fish replenishment level and progressive decline in its stock was reported by 1992.

As the lakes fish diversity and quantities of nile perch went down and drifted out of the poor mans menu, dagaa (local names omena, mukene) became the poor mans fish. Dagaa is also currently drifting out of the community menu.




PROBLEM STATEMENT

Lake Victoria fisheries is undoubtedly unsustainable at its current status. The lake’s fish diversity has reportedly reduced dangerously to less than ten main species.

Nile perch, credited with its economic value is also threatened as its quantities have constantly reduced in the lake. At present, the demand for the fish is high yet the resource is scarce. This has led to adoption of advanced technologies that trap the scarce fish. The demand for more fish catch as also contributed to use of illegal fishing gears and methods that guarantee more fish catches.

The shift of the lake fisheries from subsistence to commercial, change of management from community to government control against week fisheries policies opened the lake fishery to open access. The riparian communities lost authority to manage the fisheries resources and this shifted to the hands of the government. However, the government have become handicapped in enforcing controls, and because of lack of community ownership of the resource, any player in the industry is free to go for his catch using every possible methods and gears.

The poor mans fish dagaa - Rastrineobola argentea (local names Omena/Mukene) has remained the main source of protein and iron to the Lake Victoria communities. Nile perch and Nile tilapia has gone out of reach of the poor and the other fish species are unavailable having been consumed by Nile perch or eradicated by the adverse ecological conditions of the lake accessioned by pollution. Now, dagaa is also drifting out of reach of the poor. The fish has been commercialized and is currently used to produce animal feed at industrial levels, denying the poor lake community the badly needed protein and iron in their diets.

Dagaa fishery is also subjected heavy post harvest losses especially during wet or cloudy seasons further denying the poor community access to the needed protein. No wonder cases of malnourished children are rising in the lake basin. During wet seasons or cloudy days when sunlight intensity is low, dagaa is poorly dried and large quantities get rotten. Whereas better drying simple technologies exist among certain communities this information in lacking in the larger community.

JUSTICATION
It is paramount that concerted efforts must now be directed towards restoring proper management and control in the fishery of lake Victoria. Efforts must also be directed to improve fish preservation to reduce post harvest losses of the scarce Lake Victoria fisheries resources.

The first sure way of improving fisheries management is by building riparian community ownership of the resources. Fortunately, this strategy has been identified at inter governmental and governmental level and a strategy to strengthen Beach management units (BMUs) has been adopted. BMUs offers a good opportunity for a co-management of the Lake Victoria fisheries resources.

However the establishment of these units is still riddled with problems. The Units are not registered in Kenya and Tanzania and have no legislative coverage.

Many beaches are yet to establish the BMUs in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania according to guidelines established by Lake Victoria fisheries organization. In addition, for already established BMUs, their management are poorly acquainted with their roles and responsibilities and fisheries legislative requirements. Set up of some BMUs in the lake basin was also poorly done and this resulted in election of incompetent official in management positions. Need for training of BMUs management and their general set up is therefore essential for effective function

KANRRDO proposes to undertake an active training programme on setting up and operationalising BMUs. KANRRDO has a better edge in this since it will be working among its member organizations.

On post harvest losses in dagaa fishery, it is obvious that large quantities of dagaa goes to waste during wet or cloudy season due to poor drying technologies used by the lake communities. However, simple appropriate technologies have been identified among certain communities that could be up scaled to the larger community.

KANRRDO proposes to adopt these improved technologies and replicate it among the larger communities along the lake basin. Initially, the up scaling will be done on pilot fishing villages and duplicated with time.

OBJECTIVES
1. To set up operational and effective selected BMUs in the Lake Victoria basin to used as pilot centers of up scaling good fisheries co-management practices.
2. To promote and upscale improved local technology of dagaa drying to reduce post harvest loss of the fish.

KANRRDO STRATEGY
KANRRDO is a membership organization of idealist organizations, BMUs/ beach committees being part of the membership. KANRRDO through this membership will be able to easily mobile manage of BMUs or beach committees for training on BMU set up and supporting their operationalisation.

Specifically KANRRDO shall undertake the following activities

A BMUs

1. Identify 10 pilot BMUs per country per year
2. Train the BMUs on :
-their roles and functions
-Fisheries laws and regulations
3 Work with the BMUs to set up strong, independent and self sustaining and management system
4 Make follow-up to the pilot BMUs
5 Organize three cross visits within piloted BMUs per year per country
6 Organize two experience sharing seminars per country per year and one regional seminar per year
7 Produce three newsletters per year on the experiences of the BMUs and improved technologies in dagaa drying in the three East African Countries
8 Produce 16 radio programmes per country per year on the experiences of the BMUs and on Dagaa drying technology experiences






B IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY IN DAGAA DRYING

1 Identify pilot best practices sites
2 Organize training sassing in pilot 15 fishing villages per country
3 Construct 5 demonstration sites per country of the improved technology
4 Organize 4 learning cross visits per country per year for the pilot fishing villages
5 Organize 2 seminars for experience sharing per country per year and one regional seminar per year




WORK PLAN

ACTIVITES BUDGET 2009 2010
USD Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
A BMUs
1 Identify 10 pilot BMUs per District 1,200 x X X X
2 Train the25 BMUs 75,000 x X X X X X X
3 Work with the BMUs to set up strong, independent and self sustaining and management system 10,000 x x x x
4 Make follow-up to the pilot BMUs 25,000 x x x x x x x
5 Organize three cross visits within piloted BMUs per year district within the Lake basin 12,000 x x x x x x
6 Organize two experience sharing seminars per country per year and one regional seminar per year 13,000 x x x x
7 Produce three newsletters per year on the experiences of the BMUs and improved technologies in dagaa drying in the district 17,000 x x x x x x
8 Produce 16 radio programmes per country per year on the experiences of the BMUs and on Dagaa dryng technology experiences 16,000 x x x x

B IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY IN DAGAA DRYING 9,000
9 Identify pilot best practices sites 7,000 x X X
10 Organize training sassing in pilot 15 fishing villages per district 18,700 x x X X
11 Construct 5 demonstration sites per country of the improved technology 25,000 x X X X X
12 Organize 4 learning cross visits per country per year for the pilot fishing villages 5,600 x x x x
13 Organize 2 seminars for experience sharing per country per year and one regional seminar per year 7,800 x x x x
TOTAL-BUDGET
242,300

Contact name:Athanas Kabunga
E-mail: kanrrdo@yahoo.co.uk
Phone:+255754063313.