State to Establish 450 Feedlots to Curb Feed Shortage in Asal Counties.
State to Establish 450 Feedlots to Curb Feed Shortage in Asal Counties
The State Department for Livestock is setting up 450 feedlots across 21 arid and semi-arid counties as the country grapples with a 60 per cent deficit in feed.
This deficit is mainly brought about by challenges of affordable feed, availability, and quality in the livestock sub-sector. – Mr. Bishar Elmi, the Director of Livestock Production in the State Department for Livestock.
“As a country, we have a 60 percent feed deficit. In terms of herd size, Kenya is third on the continent, but we are not exporting the much-needed red meat,” he added.
This situation poses a big challenge to meeting the future nutritional needs of the country’s ever-increasing population that will require livestock as a source of protein, he said, even as there is a shortage of feed.
Other major challenges facing County in the sector include animal genetics, breeding, and disease control. The director noted that nomadic pastoralism would only be sustainable if combined with modern farming practices.
“We intend to create 450 feedlots in 21 ASAL counties. This project aims at off-taking livestock from pastoralists, then taking them to the feedlots where they will fatten and treat them for a period of three months before selling,” Mr Elmi elaborated.
The pasture lands will help bridge the feed deficit at the feedlots. Three feed lots have so far been put up in Chemogoch in Baringo County, Wajir West and Kibiru in Meru County close to an abattoir in the neighboring Isiolo.
“In the pipeline we have four more in Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit and Isiolo. We intend to finish these before the end of this year,” he said.
The government also plans to roll out a commercial livestock breeding program and a national vaccination program in order to control the trans-boundary diseases, he added.
It will also sensitize farmers to commercialize and add value to the livestock production to increase their earnings.
“We can no longer keep animals for prestige. Once you commercialize, you can produce high-quality animals that meet local and global market demands,” said the Director of Livestock.
The market is readily available in the country, because the annual consumption demand for red meat is 600,000 metric tons annually against a production of 400,500 metric tons.
The per capita consumption of red meat stands at 14 kilo grams, he noted. The country is doing well in milk production and the dairy sector is vibrant and robust.
The APPT Bill, 2023 is at an advanced stage of public participation before it is tabled in the National Assembly, said Mr. Elmi.
The draft bill will give a legal framework to the training, regulation, and licensing of professionals and technicians of livestock production with a view to streamlining the animal production sector.
It was the Director of Livestock who opened the first GRASK annual conference in Mombasa with the theme: “Enhancing Community Resilience and Productivity of Grass land and Rangeland Ecosystems for the Achievement of Food Security.”
The sustainable management of the grassland and rangeland ecosystem, enhancing strategies that can increase livestock production systems, climate change issues, and food security in dry land areas were the high points presented during the two-day conference.
It has placed an emphasis on the role that technology, policy, and inclusivity can play within agriculture in terms of furthering ecological sustainability and economic resilience of communities dependent on such ecosystems.