Alice Hamisi

I am an aquaculture and aquatic food systems expert supporting fish farmers and fishing communities through technical guidance, training and research. My work covers aquaculture, food safety, environmental monitoring and regulatory compliance, with a focus on improving livelihoods, strengthening food systems and expanding opportunities for women and youth.

I am an aquaculture and aquatic food system expert whose career has developed through scientific training, public service and work with communities. My interest in food systems centres on the relationship between aquatic resources and everyday life: the farmer earning an income from fish, the household relying on it for nutrition, and the community whose future depends on a healthy ecosystem. Working with farmers and fishing communities has helped me understand how these disciplines connect with wider questions of affordability, livelihoods and access to food. Since joining Kenya Fisheries Service in 2021, I have been supporting aquaculture development, community engagement, regulatory compliance and environmental monitoring. Fieldwork brings me into contact with producers managing challenges such as feed costs, access to quality inputs, changing water conditions and market uncertainty. These experiences have shaped my approach to public service: listening to communities, understanding the constraints behind their decisions, and providing guidance that responds to their needs. My professional development has also taken me beyond Kenya. I completed postgraduate training in sustainable aquaculture through the GRÓ Fisheries Training Programme in Iceland and further training in the sustainable development of coastal communities in Italy. Learning alongside professionals from different countries broadened my perspective on governance, community participation and the connections between environmental protection and economic opportunity. Research has allowed me to examine questions arising from practice. My research on cage aquaculture in Lake Victoria explores its contribution to livelihoods and its effects on water quality and aquatic biodiversity. It has strengthened my interest in using evidence to guide aquaculture growth while protecting the resources that sustain it. Through aquaculture development projects, including the NORAD-funded Advancing Resilient and Nutrition-Sensitive Smallholder Aquaculture project under the Aquaculture Business Development Programme, I have contributed to work linking fish production with household nutrition and income. This experience has deepened my focus on small-scale producers and opportunities for women and youth across the aquatic food value chain. As a fellow, I contribute a fisheries and aquaculture perspective grounded in research and community experience, while supporting food-systems change through practical action on producer livelihoods, nutritious aquatic foods and environmental stewardship.