Farmers who rear goats, sheep and poultry across four wards in Bungoma county will now get value for their farm products after Kelcop started distributing fertilizer to support them plant enough Fodder crops for their livestock.
Speaking to journalists during the distribution process, project coordinator Rose Khisa said the project targets the ultra poor, marginalized, those living with HIV and the elite farmers.
We are focusing on key value chains in meat goats, sheep, poultry and honey with Bukembe East, Naitiri Kabuyefwe, Musikoma and Kaptama wards being the target areas
she said
She says climate smart Agriculture and marketing are the major components of the project since it targets to boost the income of farmers.
She adds that the project also intends to build ultra modern cattle rings at Kamukuywa and Musikoma markets to give livestock traders a conducive environment to do business.”The rings will be made to the KEBS standards with shades, metal bars and sanitation facilities,” she said.
Apart from distribution of fertilizer, she says the project has already supported the training of 20 students on animal health so that they can help farmers in prevention of livestock diseases.
“They will be the foot soldiers in combatting disease nuisance among our beneficiaries so that we get quality products to markets,” she said.
A total of 50 bags of planting fertilizer and 50 bags of top dressing fertilizer have been distributed to farmers.
“The fertilizer is purely organic in line with climate smart Agriculture because we want to avert causing harm to the environment, the seeds will also be issued to them,” she said.
In the project, farmers are expected to provide land and labour as the program supports officers to offer technical assistance.
Khisa says the project is not only supporting farmers to have fodder but also promoting a nutrition sensitive approach so that livestock are fed on the right combination of feeds for good yields.
“We have trained our teams on nutrition and we are rolling it down to our target groups,” she added.
She says the project is geared towards women empowerment where 54% of all beneficiaries must be women, among the women, 30% must be young women. The remaining 46% men also includes a mandatory 30% young men. Another 5% must be vulnerable groups.
A total of 44 groups with 11 from each ward have benefited from the program.
Program monitoring and evaluation manager Benjamin Khaemba has insisted that organic fertilizer does justice to the farmers environment adding that they are sensitizing farmers to utilize solar energy, biogas and plant fodder trees and fruit trees citing that it is part of the social, environmental climate assessment procedures being mainstreamed in their trainings.
Beneficiaries led by Sharlene Nasika, Ben Wanyama Wanyonyi and Antonina Wakhombe have louded the project as a new dawn for their Agribusiness.
“My life has really been transformed because I can now compile my own feeds if I have no money to buy,” said Ben Wanyama Wanyonyi.
Youths and women have been encouraged to embrace farming as a way of turning around their fortunes.
The project targets to set up 50 acres of fodder across the four wards and is funded by IFAD.
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