The environmental regulator has opened a review of a large-scale tilapia expansion on Lake Victoria by Victory Farms Limited, a project underpinned by fresh international financing.
- •Last week, AgDevCo committed a US$15 million follow-on investment into Victory Group through a mezzanine loan, its second backing of the company after an initial US$4 million investment in 2021.
- •The capital is intended to fund new farming sites in Kenya and Rwanda, strengthen distribution networks, and support a production ramp-up to 30,000 metric tons of tilapia annually.
- •Victory Farms Limited was founded in 2015 by Joseph Rehmann and co-founder Steve Moran to rebuild the fish value chain around Lake Victoria.
Following the fresh funding, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has published an Environmental Impact Assessment study for a proposed 390-acre cage farming concession in Lake Victoria, located in Nyatike West and Nyatike South sub-counties in Migori County.
According to the assessment, the project involves establishing a commercial cage system designed for high-volume tilapia production within the lake. Among the primary concerns is the disturbance of lakebed sediments, particularly during installation and removal of cages, anchors and moorings. The company proposes controlled handling methods, scheduling activities during calm weather and supervising operations to limit sediment dispersion and debris loss.
The report also identifies risks of fuel and oil spills from vessels and equipment, outlining mitigation measures such as draining fuels prior to dismantling, deploying spill-prevention protocols and maintaining on-site spill response kits. The project is also expected to generate solid waste from cage materials and operations, requiring segregation into recyclable and non-recyclable streams, reuse of scrap where possible and disposal through licensed contractors.
Another flagged risk is microplastic pollution from synthetic fish nets, with mitigation plans focusing on full retrieval of nets, site inspections for fragments and disposal through regulated waste handlers.
