Victory Farms is a Tilapia farming operation on Lake Victoria in Kenya. Since it was founded in 2015 it has become the largest fish farm in East Africa and is now the fastest growing Tilapia Farm in all of Africa. Joseph Rehmann is the CEO and founder of Victoria Farms and joins us today to share his journey towards becoming an innovative entrepreneur in Kenya with an environmentally sustainable aquaculture operation. 

 

“It really felt like an opportunity to be where I wanted to be, in a field that I’m passionate about which is growing things and being able to have a meaningful impact from the work I do.” - Joseph Rehmann

 

Joseph observed that while Africa’s population is booming the development of local food sources was decreasing resulting in an increased dependence on imported food. He discusses the supply and demand mismatch that he was able to find a market in to not only build his business but help local populations.

 

“You've got 200 or 300 million people in the East African block and you've got this substantial decline in wild stocks of fish, a relative decline in per capita consumption of white proteins…..This region is sitting on what some folks call the African great lakes....So Lake Victoria is the largest warm freshwater body in the world. And it's not farmed.” - Joseph Rehmann

 

With access to one of the best natural resources for farming Tilapia, Victory Farms is now producing 300 tons of fish per year. Joseph highlights that Tilapia are native to the area and local cultures. Victory Farms utilizes local customs to then get the fish to their customers. Once the fish are prepared, they are then transported to 40 different locations and sold to about 10,000 market ladies per month. The market ladies then make the sale to the end customer in the community. By supporting the market ladies and promoting their business models, they have found great success and community compatibility. Beyond financial and cultural success, Joseph has also focused on supporting and promoting the local environment. 

 

“I think the next generation of businesses needs to stop talking about doing less harm to the environment or mitigation or conservation. And we need to flip it to restoration. Businesses need to actually promote environmental benefits.” - Joseph Rehmann

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• Meet Joseph Rehmann, CEO and founder of Victory Farms
• Explore the emerging Tilapia market in East Africa
• Discover the obstacles and challenges he has faced and the factors he attributes his success to
• Learn about the mission of Victory Farms, their management practices and sustainability focus

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We’re nearing the end of 2020 and I’m planning my 2021 content. Do you have suggestions for topics to be explored? Tweet them to me @timhammerich or email them to [email protected]. 

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