Kajiado county government has warned of dire consequences against anyone found cutting trees for charcoal burning.
Illegal felling of trees and the transportation of charcoal will be monitored and those caught in the act will be charged acccording to existing county laws.
Deputy governor Martin Moshisho said on Friday
it is paining to see residents in the region destroy their own environment through rampant tree cutting.
“As a county, we went through a haunting moment during the last drought in seeking hay for our starving livestock. We were tormented by the suffering through the loss of their animals because of rain failure,” Moshisho said.
He noted that unregulated tree cutting has contributed to the prolonged
drought across the county over the years and appealed to Kajiado residents to plant trees during this rainy
season.
For the last one week, several areas of the county have experienced increased rains.
“Let us unite and ensure we plant more trees than those we destroy so as to reinstate our deteriorating tree cover,” said the deputy governor.
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Moshisho said
the county government has set aside Sh40 million for the development of selected farms meant for the production of hay for livestock farmers.
“We learned a big lesson during the just ended drought in Kajiado, and our able governor, Joseph ole Lenku, decided that we will never walk that route again.
"He set aside the money so we can be able to establish hay harvesting that will be stored for use during drought period.”
Moshisho said 1,850 acre parcel
of land has been identified for the project.
He said the land was recently recovered from Tana and Athi Development authority in Emali.
Moshisho said the grass harvested from the model farms shall be stored in strategic positions during drought for the farmers to easily access.
He reiterated the county government's resolve to enhance farming in agricultural areas in Kajiado South and West where irrigation programs have been established.
“We want to produce our own food and encourage our farmers to produce more by protecting them from middlemen during the selling of their farm produce,” Moshisho said.
The county government has laws that govern the transportation and packaging of farm produce such as tomatoes and onions to the markets.
Moshisho said the by-laws will also be used to protect farmers from being fleeced by middlemen.
Last October, the county and the national government partnered and engaged the Kenya Meat Commission in buying livestock that had been devastated by the drought at Sh18,000 each.
The idea was to save the farmers from losing further their livestock to the biting drought.
The county government through the office of the deputy governor banned the involvement of middlemen in the exercise.
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