By MKT Reporter
Over 500 farmers in Olkaria ward of Naivasha have benefitted from a donation of 3,200 one month-old chicks from the Nakuru County Government.
Speaking in Naivasha during the distribution of the chicks to the farmers` groups on Thursday, Nakuru County Director of Livestock department Ms. Virginia Ngunjiri said the distribution was being done under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) which the county has been undertaking for several years now.
“After undertaking a public participation exercise, many farmers in Naivasha and some other parts of the country chose poultry since it’s a fairly cheap and easy venture to undertake,” Ngunjiri said.
She said they chose improved chicken breeds such as Kenbrew and Rainbow roosters from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) because they are high yielding in terms of eggs and meat and they also mature very fast.
“Unlike the indigenous chicken which can take up to seven to eight months to mature, the improved breeds take up to four or five months, thus bringing better returns to the farmer,” the Director of Livestock department stated.
The department has been organizing the framers in groups, vetting and training them before supplying them with the chicks.
Ngunjiri noted that the project will go a long way in improving incomes and nutrition of the families.
Olkaria Member of the County Assembly(MCA) Peter Palang`a said the farmers in his area chose chicken because the venture does not require much land which many people in the area don’t have.
The groups were full of praise for the project and gratitude to the county government, saying it will improve their live hoods.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that farmers in Kenya in 2020 reared a total population of nearly 58 million birds, an increase from 44 million in 2016 most of them being indigenous chicken.
Over 80 per cent of these are Indigenous breeds which include; Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex, New Hampshire Red, Black Australorps, and White leghorns, Plymouth Rock among others.
The poultry sub-sector contributes about 6.1 per cent to livestock sector Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 2.3 per cent of the Agriculture GDP and 0.7 per cent of the National GDP.
Poultry farming in Kenya is a profitable business if well planned and executed. Approximately 67 per cent of Kenya’s population live in rural areas, with majority of households practicing small scale chicken farming for subsistence.
However, some of these farmers are not exploiting the full potential of their ventures, as a result of lack of proper training and capacity building to ensure they reap maximum benefits from this business.
Agricultural productivity in the country had stagnated in recent years as smallholder farmers and agricultural enterprises continue to face challenges growing their businesses and improving the quality and quantity of agricultural goods due to climate change and high skyrocketing prices of farm inputs.
It is for this reason that the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) delved into studies and research to develop appropriate breeds of chicken that can thrive in different climatic conditions as well as improve production.
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