SAMBURU, Kenya, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- For six decades, Leshan Saitoti, a pastoralist from Samburu County in northern Kenya, relied entirely on cattle rearing to support his family.
Like generations before him, Saitoti depended on his herd for milk, meat and blood, traditional staples of the Samburu people.
However, five years ago, a severe drought wiped out 33 of Saitoti's cows and 1,200 goats almost overnight.
The devastating losses plunged his family into poverty, a challenge faced by many households across Kenya's arid and semi-arid regions.
Undeterred by the setback, Saitoti and his four sons turned to an unlikely alternative -- fish farming.
Along with a growing number of pastoralists in Samburu, they have embraced aquaculture in pursuit of more reliable food supplies and income.
"Fish farming has not only improved the diet in our homes but also transformed our lives by providing better income from a lucrative market," Saitoti said.
To support the transition, the Samburu County Government has been distributing tilapia and catfish fingerlings to local pastoralists to promote aquaculture across the region.
The initiative is providing an alternative source of income for pastoralist communities while helping strengthen food security, said Moses Leluata, county executive committee member for agriculture, livestock, fisheries and veterinary services.
"We have distributed over 28,000 tilapia and catfish fingerlings to help pastoralists embrace fish farming. We are building resilience to threats posed by insecurity and climate change," Leluata said.
For a community whose language has a dozen distinct words for a cow's coat patterns but no word for fish, the transition has entailed a steep learning curve.
Like many elders in his village, Saitoti initially knew little about fish, including how they tasted or how to prepare them.
Today, however, fish has become a popular and nutritious addition to his family's meals.
A local youth group of 20 former cattle-rustling trackers has shifted its focus from monitoring grazing corridors to managing fish ponds.
Equipped with nets and pond liners and trained by the Samburu County Government and the World Food Program, the young men now oversee daily fish-farming operations.
They feed the fingerlings twice a day, guard communal waterpans against overfishing and carefully record fish growth in exercise books.
"We were trained in fish farming, from feeding the fish to harvesting them, and we have followed the instructions," said James Ole Lekina, the group's youth leader.
"Fish has become a booming business in our major towns, and we have no regrets about taking up aquaculture," Ole Lekina added.
A mature tilapia sells for around 390 Kenyan shillings (about 3 U.S. dollars) in local markets, offering fish farmers a potential source of income.
The locally produced fish is also reshaping regional supply chains.
Grace Maina, who runs a popular fish eatery in Maralal, the administrative capital of Samburu County, once relied on supplies transported from Lake Naivasha, more than 350 km away.
The long journey drove up transportation costs. Today, she buys fresh fish directly from local dams and community ponds.
"Fish consumption is increasing day by day. Pastoralists are increasingly eating fish instead of red meat," Maina said.
Tilapia can reach market size in about six months, compared with the roughly three years it takes for cattle to mature, said Sostine Wanjala, a fisheries officer with the Samburu County Government.
"There are greater benefits from fish farming. It requires a shared pond, which can be restocked, unlike cattle, which take years to mature and can be wiped out in a single drought season," Wanjala said.
For women in Samburu, the shift toward aquaculture has also opened up new economic opportunities. In a culture where men have traditionally held livestock ownership, women are now raising and owning fish.
Small self-help groups, many comprising widows who lost their family's livestock to severe droughts and cattle rustling, have received pond liners to establish fish farms in their backyards.
"Many locals engaged in fish farming have regained the dignity they lost when the loss of their cattle intensified hunger, poverty and social tensions," said Rebecca Leitimalo, a fish farmer in Samburu County.
