Official Launch of Aller Aqua and IDH Project for Commercialization of Out-grower Tilapia in Kenya

Earlier in June, we hosted an official launch of our partnership project with IDH for the commercialization of Out-grower tilapia production in Kenya.

Aller Aqua has been consistently invested in the development of sustainable aquaculture in Africa, and more particularly in the East African region. As a key player in the growth of aquaculture in the region, Aller Aqua provides high-quality fish feeds, alongside farmer support for a technical and commercial approach to smallholder farming to promote sustainability and profitable growth.

The IDH sustainable trades organization seeks to transform markets for sustainable trade through collaborative innovation that enables the creation of value for people and the planet. IDH mobilizes support to test innovative business models designed to create better jobs, incomes, environment, and equality.

This partnership project started in 2023, with Aller Aqua and IDH collaborating to find the right partners and team. We then began profiling local farmers in Homabay and Migori counties. The project has now been officially launched in a successful and well-graced ceremony at Homabay, one of the focus counties for the project.

The launch ceremony gathered more than 250 farmers from the 429 project beneficiaries. The occasion was also graced by county government officials, representatives of financial institutions, and fish marketers.

Through this project, Aller Aqua will improve the aquaculture businesses of smallholder fish farmers by providing high-quality inputs (feed, fingerlings, and finance), upskilling the farmers through field school training, and providing off-taker services to guarantee a market for their fish.

The project will promote entrepreneurship and sustainable aquaculture by implementing out-grower models and aqua hubs as viable business models among smallholder farmers. It is creating a more gender-balanced and inclusive approach to aquaculture and empowering farmers with access to critical resources like market access and financial services.

With a team of more than ten field officers and this comprehensive approach, Aller Aqua and our project partners will help farmers achieve two production cycles yearly, significantly boosting their bottom line.

At the launch, Aller Aqua also provided farmers with market access to their products by establishing connections with off-takers, thereby creating sustainable market linkages.

The project launch event was kickstarted with a warm welcome from Homabay county government officials.

The event featured a keynote address from Ole Haubro, Sales Director, Africa at Aller Aqua. He emphasized Aller Aqua's rich history of 60 years of providing high-quality feeds and farming solutions across the world and the company's transformative approach to elevating small-scale farmers to commercial-minded farming using quality feeds.

The country director for IDH, Jenny Lofbom, also spoke about their long history of improving farmer productivity through partnerships. Given Aller Aqua's track record of high-quality fish feeds and technical expertise, she highlighted his confidence in the project.

Other speakers included Adrian Constantin, the Sales Manager Africa at Aller Aqua, sharing insights on Aller Aqua's technical approach to minimizing losses from feeding, storage, and sampling practices. Beth Wagude, the IDH Aquaculture project manager, highlighted the importance of data-driven aquaculture in identifying and mitigating risk while forecasting profitability. In addition, the project coordinator, John Erick, expressed his confidence in his team delivering a successful project.

"We are excited about the project's future and its ability to positively impact the productivity of smallholder farmers, particularly in Kenya and Eastern Africa in general, since Homa Bay and Migori counties have the largest smallholder farmer groups in the country", says Ole Haubro.

LET’S GROW TOGETHER!