Empowering Women Through Enhanced Capacity in Seaweed Farming in South Coast Kenya

Seaweed farming serves as both a sustainable economic activity and a means of empowering women in rural coastal villages. However, the women still are faced by a number of challenges that needs mitigation for effective contribution to the aquatic food systems. The study examines women’s involvement in seaweed farming along the South Coast, focusing on sustainability, opportunities, and challenges within the framework of seaweed Best Management Practices (BMPs) training. Capacity enhancement involved both class and hands on training. The data was collected from demonstration farms, mentorship interventions and field observations. The results indicate that mentorship and training in Seaweed BMPs have been provided to 285 farmers in Kwale County (60.7% female and 39.3% male). We established that most of the female seaweed farmers (56.65%) are above 35 years of age. Out of the total number of trained farmers, 67.5% were female participants in the Accelerating Restorative Aquaculture in Africa initiative, which promotes restorative seaweed farming. To promote sustainability, the training mentored 53 Trainers of Trainees (ToTs) who comprised of 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The study established that despite the progressive advancement in enhancing women's capacity in seaweed farming, they still faced challenges such as limited access to marine resources, financial constraints, and socio-cultural barriers. The gendered disparities included boat ownership access and household responsibilities that impact full participation in commercial seaweed farming. In order to minimize the gaps, there is need to develop strategic interventions that are aimed at enhancing women engagement that include; Resource Equity like establishing communal boat-sharing systems and integrate childcare support during training; Policy Integration to ensure more support for women; Youth Engagement in value addition aspects and marketing; Collective input buying and selling to manage costs and maximize profits. The study underscores the significance of capacity development and seaweed farming in supporting coastal livelihoods. Further, it highlights a gap in policy to ensure there is effective participation of women and especially younger women in seaweed farming as a key component of the blue economy agenda.