Evaluating the Adaptation Benefits of Cold Storage and Market Connectivity for Kenyan Fisherfolk on Lake Turkana

Fishing plays a central role in the livelihoods and food security of many rural communities in Kenya, particularly around Lake Turkana, where climate variability, spoilage of catch, and limited market access have historically constrained economic opportunities. Keep IT Cool (KIC) is a social enterprise that provides solar refrigeration and cold chain logistics for smallholder chicken farmers and fisherfolk in Kenya. The Nairobi-based start-up works with Beach Management Units (BMUs), which are fisherfolk cooperative groups, in Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana to reduce post-harvest losses and facilitate marketing of high-value fish (tilapia and Nile perch) in the domestic Kenyan market.

In this study, we use a difference-in-differences (DiD) methodology with treatment and control fisherfolk to examine the impacts of the KIC partnership on a variety of outcomes, including financial and economic outcomes, nutrition and food security, fish production, social capital, and household wealth. We also examine the resilience of study participants to various shocks, and what this resilience is worth to them.

Overall, we find that working with KIC reduced fish spoilage and losses for fisherfolk in partner BMUs, which contributed to enhancing food and income security. The intervention also contributed to economic empowerment, increasing the ability of fisherfolk to purchase their own fishing equipment. This financial autonomy was, in turn, associated with increased commitment to fishing. Finally, though catch did not significantly change, beneficiary fishermen appeared more capable of investing in building alternative sources of income, thus diversifying their livelihoods.