The Busia County government, in collaboration with the national government, has embarked on plans and activities that will lead to the data collection on livestock.
Speaking during a sensitisation forum for stakeholders at a hotel in Busia on Wednesday, the Deputy Director for State Department for Livestock, Michael Gachukia said that the data collected will be important in the implementation of the Kenya Master Plan on Livestock Development.
‘It is important that we use a guided plan to ensure that the sector is guided on all its activities at all levels,’ he said adding that the sector has for a long time not had accurate and quality data for sharing and policy making.
Gachukia explained to the stakeholders that the plan will be used for the next 15 years once completed.
‘We are currently doing sensitisation for all the relevant government departments and private entities before rolling out the exercise next week,’ he said.
He stated that the County has recruited 220 enumerators who are going to assist in household data collection for the next 15 days.
“We hope that by the end of June next year, we shall have completed data collection in all the 47 counties,’ he said adding that Busia is the first County to be visited by the team.
The official explained that the information will help the government officers to ensure that farmers get the right inputs and services at the right time.
Busia County Executive Member (CECM) for agriculture George Mukok said that once implemented, the livestock masterplan will benefit local farmers from evidence based data.
Dr Mukok added that the plan will also help the county government to save on resources because the data collected will show which areas suits various economic activities.
He urged all farmers to cooperate with the team from the national government during the exercise by answering questions posed to them.
The official further said that the masterplan and data will be domiciled at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) for easy access by farmers.
By Victoria Magar
