Ethical Seafood Research, in partnership with UK-based FAI Farms, is leading a pioneering study to improve farmed Nile tilapia welfare in Kenya. This project, funded by WTS, will evaluate the use of the FAI Tilapia Welfare App as a practical tool for assessing and improving fish welfare in local aquaculture systems.

Tilapia farming is a vital and rapidly growing sector in Kenya that provides food security and livelihoods to thousands. However, challenges such as poor record-keeping, minimal water quality monitoring and the absence of structured health and welfare assessments affect fish wellbeing and farm productivity. Our research aims to bridge this gap by introducing a science-based, digital approach to monitoring animal welfare in aquaculture. 

The study will involve up to 100 tilapia farms, including both pond and cage systems, across key production regions. Three research assistants will be trained to conduct systematic welfare assessments using the app over an entire production cycle. Data collected will provide insights into welfare trends, management practices and environmental factors affecting farmed fish. Over the typical tilapia production cycle of 7 to 8 months, we will assess the app’s usability, analyse welfare outcomes, and engage with farmers to ensure practical adoption. 

This project builds on the success of the Tilapia Welfare Egypt project, where the FAI App has been successfully integrated into over 1000 commercial farms to enhance welfare monitoring. In Egypt, the App enabled farmers to track key welfare indicators such as water quality, stocking density, and fish health, leading to improved survival rates and productivity. Applying lessons learned from Egypt, this study will test the app’s adaptability to Kenyan conditions, refining its usability for local farmers. 

By empowering farmers with real-time welfare data, this initiative supports better farming decisions, reduces stress-related losses and promotes ethical production standards in Kenyan aquaculture. The project’s outcomes will serve as a model for digital-driven fish welfare improvements across Africa. 

For updates on this research, visit the ESR website and LinkedIn.

Cattle farming is central to Nigeria's food security and rural livelihoods, yet many farmers face significant barriers to adopting better animal welfare practices. Understanding why farmers do or do not act on welfare concerns requires looking beyond knowledge and attitudes to examine the deeper social, economic, and psychological factors that shape decision-making.

This study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate the factors driving cattle farmers' intentions to improve animal welfare across five major cattle-producing states in northern Nigeria: Adamawa, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, and Sokoto. A total of 750 farmers participated through structured, interviewer-administered surveys conducted in Hausa and Fulfulde to ensure accessibility across varying literacy levels.

The findings revealed that farmers generally hold positive attitudes toward animal welfare and consider it an important part of good livestock management. However, detailed knowledge of international welfare frameworks such as the Five Freedoms remained limited, with nearly half of respondents demonstrating low conceptual knowledge despite high self-reported awareness. This gap between recognition and understanding has important implications for how welfare education programmes are designed.

The strongest driver of farmers' intention to improve welfare practices was the extent to which they personally valued welfare as relevant to their farming goals, particularly in relation to animal health, productivity, and market performance. Social expectations from traders, market actors, and fellow farmers also played a substantial role, highlighting that welfare behaviour is shaped not only by individual beliefs but by the broader environment in which farmers operate.

Practical constraints, including limited access to infrastructure, labour, and financial resources, remained significant barriers, particularly for farmers under economic pressure.

These findings point to the need for welfare interventions that align with farmers' practical realities, engage market actors as key influencers, and move beyond awareness campaigns toward concrete, context-specific support.

For updates on this research, visit the ASL website and LinkedIn.