The county is set to receive 42,857 Sahiwal semen, 40,000 Gir semen and 13,600 Red Sidhi semen all of Indian genetics from the Kenya Animal Genetics Resource Centre.
The devolved unit is persuading the government to set up a genetic centre in the county to help unlock the region's livestock production potential.
“We remain optimistic that our push to have an animal genetic centre within the county will bear fruit. This will help achieve our agenda on beef and dairy commercialisation,” Kyongo said.
He said the region is capitalising on the vast rangelands to improve livestock production and tap the opportunities in the value chain.
Taita Taveta boasts more than one million acres of rangeland falling under 28 community ranches, providing an ideal space for animal production.
Kyongo's department is targeting to capitalise on rangelands to grow fodder and help herders reduce livestock deaths caused by drought.
The county, he said, needs to produce at least one million bales of pasture annually to meet the current demand.
Livestock chief officer Stephen Mcharo said the government is also keen to promote fodder and pasture commercialisation. He advised farmers to utilise the ongoing long rains to grow fodder and embrace pasture preservation methods.
“Our extension officers are available to offer support in silage making and pasture preservation methods. We want farmers to store enough hay and minimise deaths caused by drought,” Mcharo said on Tuesday.
The department is adopting animal breeding and vaccination programmes to improve the quality of breeds and reduce the impacts of diseases in the livestock sector.
Animal diseases are blamed for reduced productivity, market rejection and post-production losses in the livestock value chain.
They have also contributed to increased animal mortality and high cost of production.
Some of the common animal diseases affecting farmers in the county include foot and mouth disease, lumpy skin disease and East Coast fever. Others are goat pneumonia, new castle disease and anthrax.
The region is however considered a disease-free zone thus placing it as an ideal place for livestock production.
It also plays host to the 15,000-acre Bachuma Livestock Export Holding Ground and Quarantine, which is set to play a central role in Kenya’s quest to explore the lucrative beef export market.
The much-awaited export deal targets to help livestock keepers reap from the livestock value chain in line with the Kenya Kwanza Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and help grow the economy.
Some 76 per cent of the county households depend on agriculture for a living, with livestock contributing to up to 40 percent of the total earnings in the sector.
