The government is ready to distribute artificial insemination semen to 31 counties to improve the country’s livestock quality and production, an official has said.
The director of Livestock Production, Bishar Elmi, said that Isiolo county would get 40,000 of Borana cattle breed and another 40,000 of indigenous stocks capable of improving milk, meat and skin productions.
Elmi said drought would not be an emergency any more since the government has also planned to establish 450 feedlots in every county to address the situation of long dry spells in the country.
He made the remarks in Isiolo town, where he joined 300 herders to celebrate completion of a joint Northern Rangeland Trust organisation and the government training through the ‘Ufugaji Bora Mashinani’ programme that taught them on how to achieve better livelihood from better livestock husbandry.
The government plans to educate farmers on modern feedlots management technologies where grass would be planted using minimal amounts of water.
The government is also partnering with stakeholders to speed up completion of modern slaughter house in Isiolo in order to help livestock farmers maximise profits from their undertakings through exporting meat and other products to foreign countries and create more jobs for young people.
Elmi said that Isiolo modern slaughter house is 99 per cent complete and would be opened soon.
More than 160 camels, 300 cows and 2,500 goats would be slaughtered at the abattoir daily, hence create more than 1,000 jobs for skilled and unskilled personnel.
More meat is needed locally and internationally from Kenya where there is a deficit in demand since the current production of 45,000 tonnes can match the required 66,000 tonnes.
Isiolo deputy county commissioner, Patrick Musango, urged livestock farmers to use modern technologies and embrace zero grazing of their stocks formally so as to keep away the cattle rustlers who have been terrorising them in the grazing fields, sometimes losing lives and property to cattle thieves.
The DCC directed chiefs to be attending training workshops in their locations and sub-locations so as to disseminate government information and policies to local residents and other stakeholders.
