Pastoralist community in Loita ward, Narok South Sub County is hopeful that the incoming administration will boost the livestock sector to enable them raise their living standards, as opposed to previous regimes.
The farmers who spoke to KNA on different occasions said livestock farming was the mainstay of their economic activities adding they heavily depend on their animals for survival.
Francis Kipai, a prominent livestock farmer, expressed confidence that the President-elect William Ruto will build meat and milk processing factories in the county to fulfil promises he made to residents while on the campaign trail, to enable the farmers sell their products with ease.
Kapai said the factories will help create job opportunities for many jobless young people as well as serving as a market for their livestock.
“We are confident that our new president will deliver good services to livestock farmers because we saw him expanding the agriculture sector during his tenure as Minister for Agriculture,” reiterated Kipai.
Another livestock farmer Daniel Maturi said he was confident that the president-elect will boost livestock farmers by giving high breed cows that can give high returns to farmers who have been keeping the indigenous livestock.
“We have been keeping a huge stock of livestock that do not give much returns. We are hopeful that our new president will introduce a programme where livestock farmers will get improved breeds for high returns,” said Maturi.
The youthful farmer also called on the president-elect to improve road infrastructure in the area so that farmers can connect to major cities easily.
“We are happy that Dr Ruto has promised to root out cartels that were thriving in the county. He also promised to fight corruption. This is a good strategy in growing the economy of the country,” he said.
He congratulated the president-elect for beating all odds and being named the fifth president of Kenya in his first attempt to vie for the office.
Narok County is famous for a high number of livestock as the area is dominated by the pastoralists Maasai community.
However, the animals do not necessarily benefit the farmers as most of residents keep the indigenous breeds that take too long to mature and produce lesser milk.
By Ann Salaton
