Former policeman who quit service for the love of fish farming

Joseph Mutwiri resigned from his position as a chief inspector of police five years ago to concentrate on farming, earning him the moniker Afande Mkulima from his neighbours at his farm in Meru County.

Mr Mutwiri, 55, says he does not regret the decision to quit the National Police Service before hitting the retirement age since the move gave time him to do what he loves doing most and make a tidy sum of money while at it.

He now has six fish ponds, each holding about 1,000 fish, and from which he makes over Sh500,000 every year to supplement the earnings he gets from dairy farming.

“I dug my first pond in 2007 and before I resigned as a police officer in 2011, I had six fish ponds,” said Mr Mutwiri.

“When I started fish farming, I used to harvest the fish and pitch camp at Makutano Trading Centre to sell to residents , but today when they are ready I usually go out in search of orders.”

A tilapia fish attains one kilogram after every year and he sells them at Sh300 per kilogramme while catfish go for Sh350 per kilo, prices he says are below the market price since demand is low.

He sells about 1,000 fish every two months.

He, however, points out that he starts selling the fish when they weigh 250 grammes. The fish, which are by then around eight-months-old, retail at Sh75.

To keep costs low and boost the quality of his fish, Mr Mutwiri began producing his own feeds using maize jam, rice polish, sunflower and omena. He said that at the moment a 50kg bag of fish feeds at the market costs Sh1,500 which is more expensive than the brand he produces.

This high costs of feeds, he added, is preventing farmers in the region from venturing fish farming and called upon the county government to help start a fish feed milling factory for farmers to access the product at an affordable price.

Mr Mutwiri has become one of the main suppliers of fish to hotels and institutions, including the Kenya Methodist University (KeMU), located just 200 metres from his farm.

“It would be unwise to harvest the fish without getting orders first, because it would be a waste if I do not sell all the fish,” Mr Mutwiri advises interested fish farmers.

Customers also have a choice of selecting from live fish he carries to the market in his pick-up. He also supplies live tilapia to Jambo Park, a popular joint along the Meru-Nairobi highway.

The father of two adds that he makes almost 100 per cent profit from his catfish, because he does not incur any costs as they feed on the tilapia and do not require a supplementary diet.

He usually introduces about 300 catfish fingerlings in a pond that contains tilapia fingerlings.

Mr Mutwiri says he has suspended selling from his current stock of fish, because he is among the few targeted suppliers of the Sh54 million Kanyakine Fish Factory, which is set to be opened this month.

Aquaculture provides up to 24 per cent of the country’s total fish production, with the remaining percentage coming from lakes and oceans.