Kirinyaga County Government trains livestock farmers on animal diseases in effort to grow dairy farming
County Government of Kirinyaga has launched an extensive animal diseases sensitization campaign targeting livestock farmers following reported cases of Foot and Mouth and Lumpy Skin diseases.
The campaign aims at equipping livestock farmers with crucial information on prevention of diseases, detection and proper management.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock, Veterinary and Fisheries Dr. John Gachara said the training comes in the wake of an outbreak of the two diseases which has since been contained.
“Some farmers have been indicating that they recording cases of Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot and Mouth disease and when we sent our officers to the ground, we discovered the main issue is lack of adequate knowledge on prevention and detection of the diseases,” he said.
Dr. Gachara said private practitioners, government veterinary officers and officials from dairy cooperatives have also been trained so as to help them respond and take swift action on diseases once they break out.
“The County Government, together with stakeholders in dairy farming has been able to develop a livestock farmer education programme that is being conducted across all the wards by our extension officers,” added Dr. Gachara.
The CECM said the county is a transit point for livestock coming from Eastern and North Eastern part of the country and therefore is prone to diseases like foot and mouth.
He said the county has more than 90,000 dairy cattle and over 30,000 dairy goats which are the main target in the campaign.
Dr. Gachara noted that the sensitization campaign will empower the farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their animals and by extension, their livelihoods.
Governor Anne Waiguru says the initiative is part of ongoing dairy sector development program which seek to increase milk production and earn farmers more money.
Waiguru diseases poses threat to the dairy sector and therefore the need for famers to be trained on prevention, detection and proper management of livestock.
“We have been working on concerted effort including rolling out subsidized Artificial Insemination (AI) services and offering subsidized animal feeds to the farmers so as to improve on breeds and increase milk production,” Waiguru said.
Apart from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Lumpy Skin Disease the training is also focusing on other ailments like Anthrax, Rift Valley Fever, Rabies and Black Quarter which also pose threat to livestock and people.
Expert veterinarians and agricultural extension officers are leading the training sessions, offering hands-on demonstrations and practical advice to farmers.
Livestock farmers have praised the initiative saying it will help them manage their livestock much better so as to prevent them from acquiring diseases.
“I have learned a lot about how to spot early signs of livestock disease and the steps to take if my animals have the symptoms. This is exactly what we needed considering that I have previously spent a lot of money treating diseases while I could have spent just a Ksh100 when the county veterinary officers were doing mass vaccination,” said Joseph Munyi, a dairy farmer from Togonye area of Mwea East.
Muriuki Magondu, another livestock farmer from the same area said he is now better equipped with knowledge on how to deal with the diseases and how to manage his herd well.
