Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi has urged farmers to fully utilise the livestock breed improvement regime which the government is set to roll out to boost quality of dairy products which will also increase income for dairy farmers.
Speaking when he graced the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) show 99th Edition, Eldoret, the CS indicated that the government is moving forward to improve the livestock and dairy sector through a Livestock Breed Improvement Regime.
He urged farmers to get ready to invest in their animals in terms of feed and care in order to improve the quality of their products.
Mr Linturi noted that the pricing of the products will be based on the extent of their quality like the fat content in milk and others.
The CS pointed out that they want to ensure farmers take full advantage of the regime to not only add value on milk beyond consumption but also ensure they have cheese, butter and all other products that can be available for processing and value addition.
“That is where we are headed to. I really want to inform our farmers to get ready to embrace the new regime, because where we are going the price of milk will depend on how they breed their livestock, to give more butter from their milk and others,” he said.
Additionally, CS Linturi acknowledged farmers’ efforts of taking heed of the president’s call to get back to their farms in order to produce enough food for the country.
He called on them to take advantage of this March-April-May long rain season to prepare their farms well and plant on time to ensure a bumper harvest.
The CS reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensure fertiliser reaches the farmers on time, noting that the government has put proper measures in place to help farmers in terms of managing post-harvest losses through provision of driers to ensure they dry their cereals at proper moisture content for safe and longer storage.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
