Potential for Women Fish Traders to Upgrade within the Fish Trade Value Chain: Evidence from Kenya
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Date
2013-08Author
Kamau, Paul
Ngigi, Samuel
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
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Fishing is an important economic activity in Kenya which provides employment, income
and food to a significant share of Kenyan population particularly the local community
around Lake Victoria. Over the last decade the aggregate landings of fish from inland
waters have increased tremendously within Lake Victoria contributing about 98% of
production from Kenya’s inland lakes, and constitute about 93% of all fish landed in
2011. In spite of these enormous contributions, population round the Lake has
remained relatively poor in economic terms. Moreover, gender and cultural barriers
impede participation by women in some activities within the fish value chain. This
paper investigates the location of women fish traders in the fish value chain and the
rewards accruing to them. One of the major findings of this paper is that women
traders in Lake Victoria are located in the lower nodes of the chain whose returns are
low. In addition, women fish traders tend to operate in very micro-scale enterprises.
Women fish traders are also challenged by cultural and gender constraints in terms of
their potential to upgrade within the value chain. The paper recommends the need for
affirmative action to empower women in the fish trade to upgrade. This can be achieved
through tailor made training on business practices, assisting them to register as
community based organization in order to link them with formal institutions; and
finally to assist them acquire modernized technology that can help them grow.
URI
http://journals.uonbi.ac.ke/damr/article/view/1157http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/57141
Citation
DBA, Africa Management Review. August 2013, Vol.3 No.2 Pp. 93-107Sponsorhip
University of Nairobi, DBA_Africa Management ReviewPublisher
DBA Africa Management Review School of Business, University of Nairobi
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