The Government of Kenya received a major boost from the World Bank after the bank granted Kenya Ksh10 billion to spur blue economy projects.
A report published by the People Daily, the money received will be used to implement blue economy projects in the five counties in the Coast region.
The World Bank defines the blue economy as the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem."
As such, the grant is set to benefit local fishermen through the training in skills to enable them to maneuver in the deep seas for better catches.
This is in addition to the 100 fishermen who underwent deep-sea fishing training in Kilifi facilitated by the national government.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has been at the forefront in the push for growth in the blue economy that includes seafaring and fishing sectors in a bid to create employment and better earnings.
In September 2019, Kenyatta announced the plans for the development of the Shimoni Fish Port in Kwale County to assist local fishermen to boost their earnings.
During the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kenyatta underscored the need to prioritise the implementation of sustainable blue economy projects in the country because of the sector's ability for growth.
Kenyatta stated that reducing land-based resources won't be adequate to sustain a rising global population in the long run, therefore creating a need for countries to embrace the blue economy.
"From the very onset, there was a very clear recognition for some of us that resources that were going to be available especially in this era of climatic change from land-based resources, we were slowly and slowly depleting through increase in population growth, through desertification and so many other issues," remarked Uhuru as quoted by the PSCU.
The president further underscored Kenya's role in the run for sustainable development of the world blue economy with the recognition that oceans are critical to the future of humanity.
"Our oceans are a critical part of the future of humanity and this is where we ended up saying that as we project ourselves into the future, this must be a critical priority for every single global citizen. If we don't do this we will not just lose resource but more importantly, we will lose life and we will lose generations to come," the Head of State indicated.
In November 2018, Kenya hosted the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi together with Japan and Canada in a bid to bring more efforts to the realisation of the full potential in the sector.
