Kisumu County – Economic Activities

Climate

Kisumu features a tropical rainforest climate with no true dry season and significant rainfall year-round. January is the driest month while the month of April receives the most rainfall. The average temperature is 22.9 degrees Celsius.

Agriculture

Kisumu has highly fertile land and variations in temperature and rainfall with two rainy seasons per year across the region provides a suitable environment for a broad range of agricultural crops. The Kisumu region has approximately 1.6 million hectares of agricultural land. However, it is estimated that only 58 percent of the land is currently used. The majority of farming in the lake basin region is subsistence driven leading to relatively low production volumes. Current crop yields are considered to be significantly lower than the potential afforded by soil and climate conditions. Current low land utilisation and yields are driven by the lack of guaranteed markets and associated support services. Like agriculture, livestock farming is currently performed primarily on a subsistence basis. Cattle are predominantly indigenous breeds with lower milk output than grade cattle.

Rice is grown under irrigation in the Kano Plains. Most of the water for irrigation comes from River Nyando, whose annual floods displace huge numbers of people but also deposit a lot of fertile silt all across the plain. The northern and eastern fringes of the Kano Plains also play host to some of Kenya's most productive sugarcane fields. Towns like Kibos, Miwani and Chemelil are centres of sugarcane production. Kisumu County also produces maize, beans, sweet potatoes, poultry and fresh vegetables.

Aquaculture

The Kenyan part of Lake Victoria covers approximately 0.4 million hectares (4,100 square kilometres), with 550 km of lake shoreline; most of this shoreline is under-used.

Fishing & Agriculture industry

Fishing

Kisumu County sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, providing it with the potential to be a major centre of fishing. However, the use of old technologies hampers the full development of the industry. Also, the recent water hyacinth menace on the lake has reduced fish catches significantly. The new county government has provided equipment which currently rolling out the floating hyacinth on the surface of the lake. This has led to an increase in the movements of the transportation vessels including waterbuses and ships.

Dunga Beach

Dunga Beach is a long-time fishing village on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Winam on Lake Victoria, just south of Kisumu City. Dunga Beach is widely known as one of those places where one can choose a freshly-caught fish and in a few minutes’, time enjoy a fish meal by the Lake Victoria waters. Although Dunga Beach may be a popular spot, it reflects something much larger and more long-standing: the historical importance of Lake Victoria as a central feature in the lives of the Luo people.