Farmers and organized groups in arid and semi-arid areas of Baringo County are now embracing new emerging livestock enterprise on the realization that pastoralism has failed to meet the community daily demands.
Prolonged drought and erratic rainfall coupled with cattle rustling menace resulting to perennial food insecurity has led to drastic decline in performance in cattle and goats over time. Pastoral population also is increasing tremendously and can longer be supported purely by pastoralism due to rapid depletion of pasture and water in the drier zones
For instance, the archaic cattle rustling practice has seriously undermined the development of the individual, the society, the right to work hard, to health care, to adequate social amenities, to education and other vital necessities of life. Some of the enterprises which have won the hearts of the pastoral communities particularly in East Pokot which traditionally pay more attention to livestock rearing include camel rearing and poultry keeping.
As part of the strategy to tackle food security in this region, the government after massive sensitization campaigns through the United Nations Development Programmes(UNDP) launched a camel improvement project as an alternative source of livelihood to cattle rearing. Learning institutions have not been left behind in the adoption of the new technologies.
Cana Girls Rescue Home in Nginyang area, housing girls rescued from female genital mutilation (FGM), forced early marriages, child abuse and illiteracy has taken the lead in poultry keeping. The rescue home manager Nelly Chochoi says they started rearing poultry after they failed to get a sponsor to take care of the children affairs particularly in terms of food, clothing and sometimes paying fees for those in secondary, tertiary colleges and universities.
No comments:
Post a Comment