About 600 households in Shamata ward, Nyandarua County have benefitted from an empowerment programme targeting to support families with dairy goats, heifers and poultry.
The households have been aggregated into 21 self-help women groups and have been supported with livestock, extension services and technical support from the Department of Agriculture.
The women groups received over 100 dairy goats and chicken per household and heifers that will be rotational per household upon multiplication.
The dairy goats farming initiative is a women empowerment program spearheaded by shamata MCA Gitau Njamba in partnership with the Dairy Goats Association of Kenya.
Shamata ward MCA, Gitau Njamba, noted that in order to empower women economically and socially, it was vital to ensure they are given a kick starter to farming that is area friendly.
Njamba was speaking in Shamata ward when he oversaw the handing over of the livestock.
On his part, Nyandarua County Governor Kiarie Badilisha lauded the project saying that it is among the pledges they made during their campaign of empowering the bottom farmers to climb up the ladder.
He also urged the farmers to embrace dairy goat farming saying that maize and potato farming have recently suffered losses due to the ever-changing climatic conditions.
“The empowerment programme is intended not just to put resources in farmers’ pockets, but also improve nutrition at the household level,” said Badilisha.
The women beneficiaries thanked the county leaders saying that they will now be able to diversify their families’ diets and at the same time make money off the goats.
By Antony Mwangi
