INSTITUTE SHOWS THE WAY IN PROMOTING FISH PRODUCTION

Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) is charged with carrying out research in both marine and fresh water fisheries in the country. I wish to highlight some insights about it able and its endeavor to upscale fish production from Kenya’s territorial waters and the Extensive economic zone.

KMFRI has instituted various measures to ensure that post harvest losses are put at bay as far as fish and fish products are concerned. The Institute has innovated smoking ovens, solar driers and wind-solar hybrid drier constructed at various points along the coast. This includes four improved fish smoking ovens constructed in Mpeketoni-Lake Kenyatta, and training given to fishermen and beach inspectors on fish quality, handling, processing and information reporting.

In ensuring that the marine environment is free from pollution and degradation, the Research Institute carries out Coastline conservation programmes including mangrove conservation. Mangroves, which are breeding grounds for fish and mollusks, are sensitive to changes in water ph due to pollution and overexploitation. KMFRI is in the fore front to see to it that a good management plan is put in place to avert the threat that pollution and overexploitation and more recently climate change has had on these marine ecosystems which include planting of over 10,000 mangrove seedlings and producing land use maps to guide on management of mangrove and other coastal resources. Together with this KMFRI has successfully carried out marine pollution monitoring using nuclear analytical techniques and introduced pollution monitoring programmes to assure sea food safety. 

Mangroves have proved to be effective carbon sinks by trapping carbon from the atmosphere and storing it. This potential is important in the fight against adverse effects of climate change which include rising sea water temperatures leading to loss in aquatic life. KMFRI carries out capacity building to the locals on mangrove management and how they can benefit from carbon financing project in mangroves through the Mikoko Pamoja project. Also by carrying out baseline surveys for mangrove resources, they are able to advice on a proper mangrove management plan including planting of mangrove in degraded areas and recommending alternatives for locals who use the mangrove for firewood, construction and also medicinal use.

Recent research carried out in inland water bodies including Lake Victoria, Turkana, Baringo and Naivasha reveal that there is a high rate of species loss and declining fish stocks due to overexploitation, poor fishing practices, the introduction of exotic species and environmental degradation from pollution and other human related activities. This was made possible using Geographical Information Systems to map out fish breeding and fishing grounds along the Lakes. I urge the researchers to investigate why the waters in lake Bogoria and Baringo is rising to an extend of affecting the hot springs. 

For sustainable utilization of fisheries, KMFRI propose that there must be a balance between protection of critical fish habitats to ensure successful breeding and reduction of over-exploitation in these lakes. This calls for protection and management programmes at the community level with training on effective fishing techniques and management and mitigation measures. 

On aquaculture, the marine and fisheries research institute has overseen the construction of over 46,824 fish ponds in 169 constituencies all over the country raising the national annual production from aquaculture from 4,000 mega tones in 2009 to 22,514 mega tonnes in 2012. More farmers are now practicing aquaculture with over 74,076 Ha of land now under aquaculture. In the same breadth, KMFRI is engaged with the private sector to increase production of fingerlings and upscale production with commercial salt farmers at the Coast as well as in the development of fish feed from sea weed. They have also put in place programmes to tackle challenges arising from increased aquaculture including fish diseases, post harvest quality assurance and markets for aquaculture products. This is a vital Programme that must be supported and up scaled for social -economic development. We need to see more output in fish feed and ornamental fish, which currently the bulk of this is imported.

KMFRI continues to innovate in  promoting the electronic fish market information system to promote fish trade by providing easier access to fish market information through use of communication technologies. This is through transmission of information gathered from fish landing sites, fish farms and markets from all fish sources in the East African region. There is a need to use technology such as space science to map out these resources.

The Coastal community and  by extension every Kenyan, depends on marine resources for their livelihoods and we should adopt suitable resource management strategies which engage the community more to handle the conflict between man and his environment, as well as maximizing benefits not only for today but also for generations to come.  

Kenya’s marine fish production has the potential of 150,000 mega tonnes annually; we need national capacity and capability to explore the deep sea where rich resources dominate. With the research vessel from Belgium, KMFRI will be able to undertake research surveys of resources which exist within our territorial waters and beyond and therefore advice on how to reduce post harvest losses in fisheries sector, adopt suitable fishing technologies and value addition for better incomes from the fish trade hence contribute to the achievement of Vision 2030. However, the institution is faced with inadequate research funds and brain drain of staff to greener pasture. Partnership and linkages coupled with aggressive resource mobilization must be embarked by the staff. A public-private partnership could be ideal. Equally, we must see more policy brief from research work that inform descision making in the sector Above all the institution must work closely with county government in promotion of the sector.

AFRICAN AGENDA CAN ONLY BE ARTICULATED BY AFRICANS

The African agenda is about charting a new strategic path in order to affect a turn-around in the continent’s economy, politics, governance and development orientation. One thing that we must consider is the role that the Africa’s new vision to position itself so that it becomes the critical player in shaping the development agenda of the entire continent.

Africa’s potential is significant and if harnessed will drastically transform the destiny of its people. The African agenda is critical to ensuring the benefits of transformation are mutually shared across the different countries on the continent.

The land mass of Africa  is larger than the US, China, India, UK, Eastern Europe, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Japan combined. It accounts for 60% of the world’s uncultivated land.

According to the McKinsey “Lions on the Move” report, Africa’s GDP is expected to reach $2.6tr in 2020 which is equivalent to the current size of the UK; consumer spending is expected to increase to $1.4tr in 2020 from $860m in 2008 and the average life expectancy in Africa is projected to reach 64 years, compared to 57 years in 2010.

The African agenda should stress on good neighbourliness and good governance relations with fellow African states. It should also stress on the progressive articulation of modes of economic relations and the exchange of knowledge to offset the economic disintegration of the continent, but shuns the articulation of economic dominance based on exploitation and manipulation.

Through the African agenda Kenya has positioned itself as a special middle ranked power state and exemplar in Africa and the rest of the developing world. The manner in which Kenya’s democracy was born, the trajectory of its economic development and governance, as well as its commitment to peaceful co-existence with neighbours, has given distinguished clout and status to the country.

Mutual Benefit

A key aspect of Kenya’s foreign policy over the past years has been to assume the role of peacemaker and mediator in Africa, and a supporter of Africa’s interests abroad. Under the banner of the African agenda, the country will be a progressive agent for change in Africa.

Indeed, the values to which the country aspires at home are the same values it hopes for in the rest of the continent.

The Government’s foreign policy should openly state that Kenya will use its relative strength for mutual benefit of all and not attempt to run roughshod over neighbouring states. A specific element is that the country should seek strategic partnerships with African states in order to promote peace, stability and development of its economy.

We must make a contribution to the challenge of peace, democracy, development and stability in the rest of our continent for it is all about building a stable democratic system.

We must develop youth employment, support innovation by youth for the youth market and promote ideas in the female gender, reinvent distribution networks (internet, mobile, urban networking, and rural outlets) and develop/acquire infrastructure technology in the continent.

There is need to strengthen local SMEs to compete in all infrastructures markets (housing, education, health, transportation, energy, water, etc.), including by patronage of bigger African companies and promote Private Public Partnerships (PPP) and implement transparent procurement processes in the continent.

We should improve the quality of health care received by Africans in order to ensure a healthy and productive workforce thus resulting in an increase in the standard of living for all Africans.

Africa should maximize intra continental trade by encouraging private sector enterprise, as a way of creating sustainable growth on the continent.

Africa must commit to inclusive, transformative development that reduces income poverty, creates decent jobs, enhances access to social services, reduces inequality and promotes resilience to climate-related hazards in the continent.

 UNIVERSITY MUST EVOLVE WITH TIME OR FADE AWAY

Knowledge, its acquisition, dissemination and application is evolving at supersonic speed. Universities as among key institutions that support knowledge structures and pass on knowledge to future generations must keep stride with the knowledge revolution and the changing times.

Traditionally Universities were charged with the sole responsibility of teaching and research; we now live in an era where they have taken up new roles including their increased involvement with the society and in contributing to national economies all over the world. World class universities have embraced these global trends however Universities in our region are yet to fully adopt these new approaches and there is need for catch-up.

Universities today have embraced a learner-centred mode of learning by adopting curricular and pedagogies that prepares their graduates for tomorrow, concentrates on problem-solving and hands-on skills and emphasize on how to achieve sustainable development. Already, we have witnessed changes in terms of education delivery where Universities have used ICT to break the classroom confinement and deal with constraints of time and space as well as cater for foreign students. Virtual classrooms are now a reality and education is offered anytime and anywhere.

The evolving knowledge and research sphere now point towards transdiciplinary and multi disciplinary approaches. New fields are emerging from existing disciplines for instance bioinformatics and biochemistry.  It is important to ground students in particular disciplines but also explore interactions as societal needs are complex and multifaceted requiring different and multi dimensions to effectively solve them. Universities today have broken away from the silo mentality and from non-productive ideologies into collaborative initiatives which maximize on resources, reduce duplication, build synergy and enrich knowledge sharing.

Labour markets demand new skills with each dawning day and continuous lifelong learning must become a necessity rather than what we know as an education system where we have defined years of schooling and then graduate to start a profession. In the same breadth, Universities must upgrade the skills of the labor force as well as churn out graduates equipped with the necessary skills demanded by these markets. Towards this end, Universities must now integrate different programmes and improve the employability of their graduates by making them relevant to market needs and make them globally competitive.

Universities today contribute to the economy through wealth creation by commercializing research products. University-Industry-Government linkages are important in this endeavor and can take the form of joint research funding, establishing incubation centres, exchange of scientists and researchers.

Universities are also key players in a country’s innovation system and must carry out their role by tapping into the growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate it to local needs and create new knowledge.  

The 21^st Century University is in touch with the society more than ever. Universities today go the extra mile to understand what the society needs and respond to these needs by designing appropriate programmes. Gone are the days when faculty developed curriculum all by themselves and Universities now draw their agenda from the society.

Our Universities must therefore become flexible and change with the times or be left behind by the globalization wave. We live in societies whose thirst for knowledge is insatiable and who also demand that we focus on their needs. Only adaptive Universities will transform themselves and respond to these needs and remain relevant and competitive.

TO SELL SCIENCE, JARGON MUST BE SIMPLIFIED

TO SELL SCIENCE, JARGON MUST BE SIMPLIFIED

Information is the indispensable fuel for the development engine; the raw material that can be transformed into knowledge to empower African communities in their efforts to take charge their socio-economic needs. Information, education and communication are vital elements of creating a knowledge-based economy as envisaged in the Kenya Vision 2030. Adequate information infrastructure is vital to facilitates the effective communication, dissemination, and processing of information as well as for assembling, managing and sharing of knowledge and for applying knowledge in production processes, policymaking and the development process.

In the sector of Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) Media and communication are important tools to communicate and disseminate information on research, promotion and awareness creation.

Communication is essential for stimulating public awareness and participation and for improving their knowledge and capabilities equally for policy making towards Social and economic development.

There are a number of challenges facing effective knowledge dissemination such as less priority given to science communication as compared to political news and crime; science reporters lack basic training on how to communicate science and technology; pseudo scientists, misinforming public; Africa lags behind in harnessing information infrastructure for knowledge dissemination. 

To promote effective dissemination of Science knowledge we need to work closely with journalists and interpret scientific data, decipher technical language, and distinguish scientifically credible claims from unsubstantiated ones.

We must pay enough attention to knowledge and allocate enough resources to the development, accumulation and dissemination of knowledge if we are to achieve our vision of being a knowledge based economy.

Exchange ideas

Strengthen capacity to harness and apply as well as protect indigenous knowledge and technologies in view to solve specific problems and improve our economy.

For any country to move forward to a sustainable economic development, it should be ready to “Sell Science” by removing the “jargon”.

Communication activities can help people, even those from different social groups within a community, to share information and exchange ideas in a positive and productive fashion. This dialogue can be enriched by understanding how development issues affect them, discovering what others think in other communities, and seeing what other communities have achieved. 

The government, in cooperation with the scientific community, should establish ways of employing modern communication technologies for effective public outreach. National and local educational authorities and relevant agencies should expand, as appropriate, the use of audio-visual methods, especially in rural areas in mobile units, by producing television and radio programmes for rural areas, involving local participation, employing interactive multimedia methods and integrating advanced methods with folk media.

Changes in the media landscape, in particular the rise of information and communication technologies, also require changes to the way in which media development is conceptualized.

Effective Science communication will establish a transparent and open form of communication in both directions that contributes to defining the role of science in society and to enabling society to make the best use of scientific knowledge.