Eemnes, Netherlands-based feed manufacturer Maxim Agri Holding has signed an agreement with the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to become an investor in a USD 3.95 million (EUR 3.42 million) fish feed plant, located 120 kilometers northwest of Nairobi.
Maxim Agri has become the fifth investor in the facility, which once fully operational will have the capacity to produce 8 metric tons (MT) of feed an hour.
“We are delighted to welcome Maxim Agri as the latest investor in the KenGen Green Energy Park. This investment is a strong vote of confidence in Kenya’s green industrialization agenda and affirms the growing demand for reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions to power industrial growth,” KenGen Managing Director and CEO Peter Njenga said in a release.
Maxim Agri Director Joachim Westerveld said the facility should help Kenya’s aquaculture sector continue its transition into an increasingly modernized and productive industry.
“The establishment of an 8-MT-per-hour fish feed production plant will significantly enhance our production capacity while reducing operational costs through access to efficient power and steam solutions. These efficiencies will enable us to provide more affordable feed to farmers,” he said. “By making high-quality feed more affordable and accessible, the transition from traditional feed to modern aquaculture nutrition will drive fish-farming efficiency, boost productivity, and improve livelihoods of fish farmers.”
Experts have recently claimed that Africa is showing signs of becoming the world’s next top aquaculture growth frontier, as, among other reasons, its domestic seafood demand is already high. Production growth across the continent has led to a spike in aquafeed usage, which rose 27.5 percent last year to 466,000 MT.
In Kenya, aquaculture production between 2021 and 2025 expanded by 63 percent, according to the Kenya Fisheries Service, rising from 21,076 MT to 34,400 MT, and the value of production rose correspondingly from KES 6.7 billion (USD 51.4 million, EUR 44.5 million) to KES 11 billion (USD 84.2 million, EUR 72.9 million).
