Garissa livestock data collection to start next week

The Garissa government, in partnership with the State Department of Livestock Development, will soon roll out a baseline survey that will help in the development of the Kenya Livestock Master Plan.

Speaking on Saturday when he opened a one-day training for enumerators, Livestock CEC Hassan Abdirizack said the survey will help the county government and its partners align resources better and prioritise their programmes.

Abdirizack said there is a need to help farmers deal with the challenges affecting them as well as address the issue of unemployment. The plan will assist in the implementation of the livestock policy.

Some 203 enumerators from the seven subcounties in Garissa county will be engaged in the household data collection set to begin next week for a period of 15 days.

The survey will help to get the animal resource base (numbers, productivity and challenges in the sector) for more accurate planning and interventions to increase productivity in the livestock sector.

“We urge farmers across the county to cooperate by answering the questionnaires that will be availed to them. The information provided by the farmers will be confidential in line with the Data Protection Act 2019,” he said.

Deputy Director for Veterinary Services at the State Department of Livestock, Dr Jefferson Nthanga, said they are keen on ensuring the policy is evidence-based, hence the need to collect real-time data.

“It is important that we use a guided plan for people who want to invest in the sector starting from the production, marketing, trade and consumption level,” Nthanga said.

The baseline data will be collected on 11 value chains (dairy, beef, camels, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, apiculture (beekeeping), donkeys, rabbits and other nonconventional animals.