Fish traders in Homa Bay County have welcomed the establishment of a cold storage facility, saying it has reduced post-harvest losses, improved the quality of fish and enabled them to better meet customer demand.
However, the traders are calling on both the national and county governments to address frequent electricity outages, provide a larger backup generator and improve market infrastructure to boost the fisheries sector.
Speaking during an interview at the Beach Management Unit (BMU) cold room, BMU representative Francis Zero said the facility has transformed fish handling by preserving freshness and minimising spoilage.
“I want to thank President William Ruto and Governor Gladys Wanga for giving us this cold room. When suppliers bring fish, there are very few losses because the fish remains fresh until morning,” he said.
Zero explained that before the cold storage facility was established, traders suffered significant losses whenever fish spoiled due to delayed transportation or low market demand.
Despite the gains, he identified unreliable electricity supply as one of the biggest challenges facing the facility.
“I would like to ask our Governor and the President to look into the issue of the generator. Sometimes electricity goes off, and when that happens the fish can perish. We need a reliable backup generator,” he added.
Another worker at the facility, Ali Hassan Dabasso, said the existing generator is unable to adequately power the cold room during blackouts because of its low capacity.
“When power goes off, the generator cannot run the machine because the voltage is too low. If we had a bigger generator, it would help preserve the fish whenever there is a blackout,” he said.
Dabasso noted that the cold room is cleaned regularly to maintain high hygiene standards and ensure fish is stored in a safe environment. He also said traders are charged according to the amount of fish they store, making the facility affordable for small-scale fish dealers.
Fish trader Anna Atieno said the cold room has helped improve the quality of fish sold at the beach by keeping it fresh for longer.
“I thank our Governor for helping us. She has given us a cold room. The fish remains fresh and of good quality,” she said.
Atieno also appealed to the county government to promote the facility more widely in order to attract more customers and expand the market for fish.
“If this place could be advertised so that more customers can come and buy fish, it would be good for our businesses,” she added.
Another trader, Joy Ongili, said poor market infrastructure and the location of the fish market continue to affect business despite improvements in fish preservation.
“We are asking our Governor to improve access to the market. We have very low sales, with most of our buyers coming from Rongo and Migori. The market is dirty and has a bad smell, discouraging customers from coming here,” she said.
