More than 5,000 livestock have been killed by heavy rains in Mandera but Garissa executive Issa Yarrow says they are prepared for a downpour.
It has not started raining heavily in Garissa county. On Wednesday, Agriculture executive Issa Yarrow said the livestock department was fully prepared to handle any eventualities when the heavy rains start.
Heavy rains are predicted in parts of Northeastern, a situation already being witnessed in Wajir and Mandera where downpours have wreaked havoc.
In a report dated October 12 and seen by the Star, Mandera chief officer for livestock Shamsi Mohamud said the rains have killed more than 5,000 animals.
On Wednesday, Yarrow said veterinary officers had already been dispatched to vaccinate animals against Rift Valley Fever and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia which are common during the rainy season.
The aim is to vaccinate one million livestock.
“We don’t want to wait until the last minute then we start doing things in a hurry. Our teams are already on the ground attending to the animals,” Yarrow during an interview in his office.
He said they were encouraging herders to move their animals to higher ground to prevent losses caused by flash floods.
We don’t want to wait until the last minute, then start doing things in a hurry. Our teams are already on the ground attending to the animals.
Lack of proper shelter and extreme temperature fluctuations have been cited among the causes of livestock deaths, in addition to flash floods.
Speaking in Garissa town last week, Governor Ali Korane urged veterinary officers to "do everything possible to make sure farmers don’t lose their animals when it rains as has been the case over the years."
Korane asked farmers to ensure their animals were vaccinated, saying it was the only way to prevent losses.
On Monday, Korane received a vehicle and laptops from the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization.
The new Toyota Hilux e and computers will be used by the department of Livestock and animal health for disease surveillance and control. It was handed over by FAO's country representative Robert Allport.
He said the county was committed to managing outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, peste des petits ruminants, Rift Valley Fever and anthrax.
Other counties that received the vehicles include Tana River, Kitui and Marsabit.
(Edited by Peter Obuya)
