Aquaculture and Rural Livelihoods

Aquaculture plays a significant role in improvement of the livelihoods of many people globally. It has also been noted by many other authors as one of the fastest growing sources of food the world over having overtaken the capture fisheries as a source of fish. In many African countries, the practice of aquaculture has taken a deep root and is being emphasized by many governments as a major contributor towards food security of the people. In Kenya significant emphasis has been laid by the government by incorporating aquaculture into the development plans which has seen many fish farmers and prospective ones benefit from incentives and subsidies so as to initiate and /or improve their farms. The overall result has been enhanced production which is presently in excess of over 20,000 metric tones annually. This book begins by describing the status of aquaculture globally, then regionally and finally giving a national perspective. The core areas that this book covers are the contribution of aquaculture towards the following four areas namely: income generation, food security, utilization of natural resource base and finally social well-being.