The Marketing Problems of Small-scale Fish Traders and Strategies Used to Overcome Them: a Case Study of the Landing Beaches in Kisumu District

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to identify the problems in the marketing of fish by small scale fish traders and to identify the strategies used in coping or overcoming these problems. The population of interest was small-scale fish traders from the landing beaches in Kisumu District. The information needed was gathered using a questionnaire, completed by 40 fish traders. The questionnaire was in three parts. Section A was concerned with the current nature of fish marketing in Kisumu District. Section B looked at the problems traders face in marketing fish. Section C looked at personal details of the traders. The results of the study showed that fish traders faced many marketing problems. The major ones were deficiency in transport and communication, insufficient . cold storage, heavy losses due to spoilage, lack of capital for investment, low prices of

fish in the market, short-shelf life of fish, inadequate packaging, scarcity of fish, poor infrastructure (roads) and high prices offish at the landing beaches. The research findings also discovered what farmers perceived as solutions to their marketing problems. These included selling at discount to avoid greater losses from perishability, trading in processed fish, ensuring that daily purchases reached the market the same day and selling on credit. On the basis of the findings, the Government should improve infrastructure by repairing the roads leading to the landing beaches, encourage the traders to pool their resources, offer more book-keeping lessons and extend credit facilities to traders. The study was majorly limited by time and financial resources. The researcher only managed to look at the fish landing beaches in one district as opposed to the whole marketing system.