Nyamira County Revamps Artificial Insemination (AI) to boost dairy farming

Jan 25, 2024 - 13:18

veterinary doctors castrating an inferior bull to pave way for the uptake of superior dairy breeds administered through Artificial insemination. (Photos by Deborah Bochere).

Nyamira,

Thursday, January 25, 2024

KNA by Deborah Bochere

Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo has launched a revamped Artificial Insemination programme in Nyamira to boost dairy farming through superior breeds which will increase milk production.

During the launch yesterday at Canaan Market in Nyamira North sub–County Governor Nyaribo revealed that the County produces 22.4 million litres of milk annually way below the potential of 240 million litres because 70 percent of dairy breeds reared by farmers are inferior indigenous ones.

“The indigenous inferior dairy cows reared by the majority of farmers barely produce an average of two to three litres of milk per cow in a day when my county has a potential of producing six to ten litres per cow a day by the year 2026. It is against this backdrop that I have made a decisive action to revitalize Artificial insemination (AI) and further castrate inferior bulls,” Governor Nyaribo stated.

He confirmed that his county has employed twenty inseminators, one in each ward, and adequately equipped them with fully fueled and serviced motorcycles each and semen for superior bulls. They will therefore have the convenience of moving from one homestead to another to provide the AI services to dairy farmers at a cost of Sh500 for first service and free of charge for repeat service.

Nyaribo notified farmers to report any inseminator who will ask for extra charges for the AI services, transport or demand other charges so that legal action is taken against such rogue officers.

Moreover, he divulged that his government is in the process of setting up a call centre for dairy farmers to get real-time services at the same time establishing a livestock breeding unit (LBU) to act as a link between the County Government and farmers to promote the AI program and consequently boost their economic venture.

“My government in consultation with the department of veterinary services has passed a law to register and license superior breeding bulls in the county because allowing inferior bulls to breed the cows will reverse gains projected by this initiative,” the county boss reiterated.

The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture Alice Manoti thanked the governor for fulfilling the initiative because many residents in Nyamira are interested in dairy farming but because they are economically challenged, incapable of taking up modern dairy farming technologies to appreciate the economic profits of their dairy farming investment.

“Other than the AI, dairy cows need regular health checks and they therefore need to be dewormed and given multivitamins to propel their urge to feed and produce more. The most appropriate breed for residents especially in lower regions of Nyamira County is the Ayrshire because it does not require a lot of food to produce enough milk. Our diminished land sizes required dairy breeds which don’t require huge quantities of food to give maximum output in milk production.” Ms. Manoti explained.

Agriculture contributes substantially to Nyamira County’s economy where dairy farming contributes close to 50 percent of GDP. This means dairy farming has the highest potential to transform the livelihoods of farmers in the County, the reason why it has been revamped to improve the livelihoods of residents and alleviate them from poverty.

Courtesy; KNA