Livestock farmers in Bamba division, Ganze sub-county have expressed fears of losing their animals to ravaging drought in the area.
The farmers say most of their livestock are emaciated due to depleted pasture and water.
Speaking at Bamba town on Monday, Mwango Kitsao, a dairy farmer, said water sources in the area have dried up and they have to walk long distances with their animals in search of water and pasture.
“I used to get around 12 to 15 litres of milk per day but now the highest I can get is five litres. There is no pasture left in the area, some cattle are even eating soil. Some of our animals fall on the way as we search for pasture and water as most are weak,” Kitsao said.
Bamba dairy cooperative society chairman Suleiman Jefwa said the active membership of the cooperative has reduced from 128 to less than 40.
Jefwa said the cooperative has a chilling machine that is currently operating below its capacity.
The chilling machine has a capacity of holding 2,500 litres a day but currently, the production is 70 litres a day.
The group also has a pasteuriser with a capacity of pasteurising 200 litres in a batch.
At its peak, the cooperative used to collect 1,600 litres a day.
“Our membership is affected by the low production of milk which is caused by drought and our rearing methods. Our farmers still use the herding method. When they have no milk it means they will not come here hence the membership is affected,” he said.
He called on the government to initiate a programme to provide improved breeds to farmers to boost production.
“We also need information on how to make hay and store it for use during the dry season. Most of our farmers have no information on this,” he added.
Some farmers have started digging farm dams as a water harvesting technique.
“These dams though small, they are very helpful as they are meant to serve individual farmers. If we could get well-wishers to do more of these dams then this would bolster our milk production,” Jefwa said.
In 2017, many farmers in the area lost thousands of cattle to drought.
The government came up with a programme to buy the emaciated livestock and slaughter them for the residents to eat.
The livestock which was in good health were provided with fodder and hay by the government.
-Edited by SKanyara
