Animals

By Fadhili Fredrick  A Kwale fisher group is looking to earn Sh720,000 this year by growing fish on six ponds to meet the rising demand for fish at the Coast caused by the Indian Ocean’s falling fish production.  Researchers have found that 70 per cent of Indian Ocean fishers in Kwale County reported a decline […]

Indigenous pastoral knowledge represents less than three per cent of literature on our environment. Yet, this knowledge has been passed down for 5,000 years enabling pastoralists to drive 25 per cent of Kenya’s national economic production. Basele Galgesa the Director of Programs & Partnership at the Pastoralist Peoples Initiative–a pastoralist-focused non-profit– that is spearheading the

Digging half-moons, Maasai pastoralists have reclaimed unproductive land to grow fodder increasing their herd sizes, doubling milk output, and earning money to uplift their community. Before the half-moons dug in 2018 on 96 hectares of semi-arid Pembamoto Village in Tanzania were full of lush Rhodesia grass, Fanuel Muhuri had no cattle of his own and

Poultry farmers looking to reduce the exploding cost of store-bought feeds have found a solution in Russian comfrey– a traditional vegetable that can replace one-fifth of poultry feeds– and improve the selling quality of eggs and meat. Poultry fed on diets with 20 per cent comfrey have shown similar production as those fed on a

Farmers in Kenya are facing month-long wait times as the few F1 egg suppliers in the country battle to meet overwhelming demand. First generation chicks, more commonly referred to as F1 chicks, are preferred by poultry keepers as they give predictable performance in terms of egg and meat production as well as how fast they

Suppliers of brewer’s waste (machicha) are recording booming sales as farmers turn to the waste from beer making to halve the heavy cost of dairy meal. Research has shown that brewers’ waste which costs Sh12.5 a kilogram in Kenya can be used to partly replace dairy meal concentrate which costs Sh41 a kilogram. “The response

Through the 16-member Kings World Self-Help group, Siaya farmers are rearing Black Soldier Flies (BSF) as an alternative way to get high-quality and cost-cutting feed BSF has been a more sustainable and affordable source of protein for their poultry, pigs, fish, and fingerlings. The cost of commercial feeds for poultry and pig farming has been

Moving from a concentrate to a fodder-based dairy production system can slash smallholder farmer production costs increasing farm profitability. Results from the Ireland-Kenya Dairy Project in Nyandarua and Nakuru Counties have shown that feeding cows on improved forages can provide over 90 per cent of the diet requirements of dairy animals. According to the Kenya

Record livestock prices caused by loud beef demand is hindering Kenya’s attempt to replenish animals lost during Kenya’s worst drought in 40 years. With Gulf beef buyers flying into the country to compete with locals for limited beef stocks, the Kenyan livestock market is now a seller’s market with sale values up 10 to 100

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has developed an improved probiotic, KALRO Probiotics (KALPRO), that increases livestock production capability by up to 30 per cent, improves animal health, and reduces antibiotics reliance as well as mitigates emission of methane gas in dairy cattle. Probiotics are microorganisms that when consumed offer health benefits when