The digital is bringing fish farmers the opportunities to improve their business and profit. It also allows them to own an essential part of the value chain.

When Dave Okech (pictured, left) started fish farming in Kenya in 2016, he immediately noticed the problems plaguing the sector, including low productivity and lack of technical assistance. Interested in technology, he develops digital tools to help address these obstacles.

He then created AquaRech in 2018. The solution is a package made of a mobile app, a connected thermometer, and a web platform. The mobile app incorporates a centralized database system that connects fish farmers, fish traders, and feed suppliers. It is available on Android and allows users to calculate the amount of feed needed by the fish population based on the water temperature. This data is collected via the connected thermometer installed in the fish breeding tank. Having an idea of the amount of food needed by their fish, farmers can directly contact producers via the web platform without going through intermediaries which made the process tedious.

Using Dave Okech's solution allows fish farmers to reduce the production period from 13 to 8 months, increase yields, reduce production costs by 30% and increase profits by 25%. The promoter has received numerous awards for his many efforts in the fish farming industry in Kenya. These include the Mandela Washington Fellow 2016, the Acumen Fellow 2019, and the Global Farmer Network Fellow 2020.

Adoni Conrad Quenum