92 Safina M. Musa, Christopher Mulanda Aura and Rodrick Kundu
with most of the female respondents (75%; n = 524) aged between 30- 39
years. Of the female respondents interviewed, 79% were married, 9% were
single, while 12% were widowed. In comparison, nearly the same proportion
of male respondents (i.e., 80%), were married while 16% were widowed. Both
men and women tended to be poorly-educated, with a high proportion being
primary school drop outs, especially amongst women. A relatively high
proportion (89%; n = 524) of households was headed by men and those headed
by females were widows.
Figure 2. Generic value chain (AVC) for aquaculture products in Nyanza region,
Kenya.
Gender Roles in Aquaculture
The survey indicated that the females dominated production (80% of
hatchery operators) and grow-out (77% of grow out farmers). At the hatchery,
majority of the females (80%) were mainly involved in breeding, nursing and
feeding of fry while majority of males (92%) were involved in cleaning of
tanks and counting of eggs. At the grow-out stage, majority of females (89%)
were involved in fertilizing ponds and feeding of fish while majority of males
(98%) were involved in harvesting and grading of fish. In AVC, after all the
(^)
Breeding
Nursing
Feeding
Cleaning tanks
Counting eggs
Feeding
Fertilizing
Grading
Harvesting
Transporting fish
Negotiating price
Processing
Cooking
Eating
Fingerling Production Grow-out Sale^
Consumption
Private/ Government hatcheries
Fish farms Fish traders/Wholesalers/Retailers Households (rural & urban)/Hotels/Restaurants
Basic functions
Roles
Operators