A veterinary officer in Mwingi area of Eastern Kenya is training farmers in the arid area to mitigate against changes in weather through pasture preservation technology with over 60 farmers now comfortably taking care of their animals.
Dr Jim Katu who received scholarship by Australia Awards Africa Fellowship in Agriculture Livestock Course decided to return home after the scholarship to ease the difficult lives of the rural farmers in his village.
Their situation was being exacerbated by increasingly changing weather patterns.
Related News: Fodder tree shrubs offer cheaper alternative to commercial feeds
Related News: Dairy farmers raise incomes five fold through fodder conservation
Dr Jim Katu has brought a glimmer of hope for these farming communities. He undertook an Australia Awards Africa Fellowship in Agriculture Livestock Course in 2012. On completing the fellowship, he returned to his post as District Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Livestock in Mwingi East District, where he set upon utilising his new-found knowledge to assist farmers in the arid and semi-arid areas.
“Climatic change is proving to be a major constraint to agriculture among the Mwingi communities. I have integrated knowledge and skills learned in pasture preservation from the course and successfully trained two community farmer groups of about 25 to 30 members each and six staff members as trainer of trainers on improved pasture cultivation and fodder preservation,” says Dr. Katu.
He further initiated an ongoing community project in perennial pasture establishments as a key drought mitigation strategy for the district that has an estimated total livestock population of about 70,000 cattle and 80,000 goats. Eighty percent of the population is composed of rural dwellers.
Related News: Northeastern women farmers earn independence from fodder farming
“The course proved effective not only in fine tuning country-specific departmental community projects but also created the ideal setting for innovative platforms and professional networks. Such networks will be effective in developing applicable and sustainable mechanisms for small scale farmers to adopt improved farming practices resilient to the impacts of climatic change across Africa,” Dr. Katu added.
Related posts:
- Traditional flu curing plant catapults farmers to international stardom Frustrated with the poor returns from the traditional farming of cereals, farmers in Siaya have...
- Schools delve into ‘1000 gardens’ supplementing incomes A project launched to create hundreds of productive gardens in schools and communities by cultivating...
- Sahiwal and Jersey cow breeds most suitable for arid and semi-arid areas Farmers in dry areas such as Marsabit, Garissa and Turkana are advised to keep Sahiwal...
- Steps to follow in certifying seeds Farmers who produce seeds for sale can certify them at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate...
- Kenya government plans to revive local sugar industries in bid to save ailing sector The Kenyan government last week announced plans to revive the local public sugar industries at...
- Opinion: Achieving solutions with farmers isn’t radical: why is it so hard? Kenny Ewan, CEO of Wefarm A stranger enters the room, from another world, and tells...