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Abattoir to transform livestock production and value addition in Baringo

Livestock farmers in Baringo experiencing marketing challenges can breathe a sigh of relief following the envisaged construction of a Sh140 million Maoi abattoir by the county government in conjunction with European Union.
Governor Stanley Kiptis said that the multimillion project will have a turn-around effect on the economy as it will create ready market for livestock products and also provide employment for more than 30,000 people.
Speaking in Marigat town Thursday, the Governor added the slaughter house set for completion in March 2021, once operational will enhance commercialization and improvement of beef production and subsequently generation of income to local residents.
He stated that the project is designed to handle an average of 1000 goats and sheep and 200 cows on daily basis upon operationalization early next year.
Kiptis said that in order to generate enough raw materials for the abattoir, his administration has so far distributed more than 30 Sahiwal bulls, 800 Galla bucks and 33 doper rams to farmers in all the sub counties to upgrade local breeds.
“To revamp the livestock sub sector, my administration has strived to control livestock diseases and pest by carrying out frequent vaccination and keep markets open to enable farmers to market their animals,” he said.
In the last one year, Kiptis stated, the department of livestock has vaccinated more than 500,000 animals against Peste Petites Ruminants (PPR) disease, 100,000 against Foot and Mouth disease, 130,000 against Rift Valley Fever and 2,000 dogs against rabies.
“We have also vaccinated animals against other diseases like lumpy skin fowl pox and new castle diseases in poultry,” added the Governor.
He further stated that the county government in collaboration with partners have mounted aggressive surveillance and documentation of diseases presence which has helped to detect and deal with outbreaks of diseases such as Anthrax, Rift Valley Fever and PPR by use of rapid test kits.
On livestock infrastructure, the Governor said that already four sale yards have been constructed at Turuturu, Kampi Nyasi, Kinyach and Kalabata, adding that that to improve on rangeland management of pasture fields, haysheds have been established at Muchukwo, Kiboi and Kuikui along the Kerio Valley floor.
Also on crop production, Kiptis said that through support from the World Bank, they have managed to roll out the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Programme (KCSAP) that seeks to improve food security and build resilience by promoting agricultural value chains.
He said following the introduction of KCSAP initiative about 359 proposals have been received amounting to Sh71.2 million and implemented in six wards identified for piloting, thereby benefiting 4015 farmers.
“Some of the expected impacts from the KCSAP programme include increased farm productivity, enhanced resilience to climate change risks and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as well as efficient feeds utilization for livestock,” said the county boss.

By Joshua Kibet

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