A mechanism similar to a revolving fund will regulate the use of boats donated through European funds by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (Aics) to target Beach Management Units along the coast of Kenya. The scheme, designed by Aics together with its technical partner CIHEAM Bari, will allow the 26 boats to generate more capital: fisherfolks will in fact have to deposit a small sum for the use of the boats, that will be kept in a dedicated account belonging to the BMU they belong to, which will be able, over time, to acquire new boats. On one hand, this action intends to limit the dependence of small-scale fishermen on intermediaries to whom Kenyan fishermen often have to turn to for the rental of boats upon payment of high costs, and on the other hand, to bridge one of the main gaps along the small-scale fishery value chain, which is the scarcity of boats and equipment.
This is one of the activities of the Go Blue Programme, funded by the European Union and realized by the Italian Cooperation in partnership with CIHEAM of Bari and with the JKP Secretariat, the economic block that represents the six coastal counties of Kenya. The 26 boats that recently donated by Aics to 9 BMUs will thus be managed according to an agreement that is being signed these days between the local partner (JKP Secretariat), the BMUs and the governments of the coastal counties. The agreement will not only promote an ethical behaviour within the BMUs, but also regulate the revolving fund management. Some of the Memorandums have been signed at the beginning of July with Kwale BMUs, during an event that took place in concurrence with the delivery of six additional flat boats to facilitate the transport of seaweed for women involved in seaweed farming.
'CIHEAM Bari has already tested this type of mechanism in other countries', declares Enrico Nerilli, scientific referent for the Go Blue initiative for CIHEAM Bari. 'Its success is linked to the behaviour of BMU members, and for this reason the intervention is associated with the introduction of a Code of Conduct, which we have been working on in recent weeks, which can transmit and strengthen the sense of belonging to a community'.
'We are proud to promote a sustainable fishery', declares Lorenzo Colonna-Preti, Project Manager of the Italian component of Go Blue, 'with actions that promote the empowerment of small-scale fishermen, making them protagonists of a sector with an enormous potential for the growth of the coast and of Kenya. The signing of the agreements for the management of the revolving fund also makes the local authorities accountable for the transparency and ways in which this growth must take place, so that it can benefit everyone, without leaving no one behind.'
Ali Mwanzei, the Go Blue Programme Advisor, presents the Memorandum of Understanding to Shimoni BMU
The delivery of the fishing equipment purchased through the EU-funded Go Blue Programme takes place in Kwale County
The 5 flat boats purchased by Aics to support the women operating in the sea-weed value chain