Fish farmers in West Pokot County are receiving fingerlings and fishing boats from the County Government in an effort to improve food security. The County through this initiative has managed to restock 150,000 fingerlings in Turkwel Dam and provided training to the local fish farmers on how to improve fish production. With increasing drought and malnutrition, the County Government had to find a way to boost food security in the area. In the quest for alternative ways to generate food, the County settled on fishing, hence closing the Turkwel Dam for six months and reviving it for fishing purposes. With the help of the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), the County restocks and monitors fishing processes in the dam.
The restock happens after every eight months to ensure that there is continuous fishing harvesting. Through this initiative, the local farmers who depend on fishing as their major source of income, selling fish to both locals and residents of the neighbouring Counties, raising their living standards by. Currently, the County is constructing a fish production unit which will be in charge of supplying fingerlings to more dams.