By MWANGI NDIRANGU
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
And the Government in conjunction with the Word Bank has stepped in to assist the pastoral community that has previously suffered losses of cattle due to harsh weather conditions year after year.
For instance, in 2000, a severe drought wiped out 50 per cent of the cattle in the larger Laikipia District.
Five years later a similar scenario recurred with about 10 per cent of the animals succumbing to harsh climatic conditions in the Mt Kenya Forest where they had been driven in search of pasture.
Interestingly, during the two incidents, none of the camels died a fact that has led the conservative pastoralist community to start rethinking the benefits of including the king of the desert as part of their stock, says area livestock production officer Mr William Letitiya.
It is against this background that locals approached the Government with a proposal to be assisted in the camel project.
Mr Letitiya told Money that though the animals were introduced in the district in the 1970s by a Non-Governmental Organisation - Farm Africa, farmers have been slow in accepting them until recently.
He said traditionally, residents of the region rely heavily on cattle whose population is about 180,000 yet there is limited pasture to support them. Mr Letitiya says Farm Africa imported camels from Pakistan with the intention of crossbreeding them with Kenyan ones with the aim of increasing milk production. However, these type of camels are found in private ranches and the few small-scale farmers stock Turkana and Somali types which are known to be hardy.
In an effort to encourage locals to embrace camel rearing, the Ministry of Development of Northern Kenya has stepped in through an initial donation of 20 camels to families in Mukogodo Division of Laikipia North District.
The 20 families will share the onus of taking care of the camels together and market the main product - milk - jointly.
Implementation of this project comes at a time when there is high demand for camel milk locally and abroad.
Laikipia District deputy drought management officer Mr Maalim Jama says owing to land degradation as a result of overgrazing, there is scarcity of pasture for cattle but adds that camels could survive as they feed on shrubs. Beneficiaries had borne the brunt of drought that ravaged the country from mid last year and are still relying on relief food.
One of them Ms Grace Supoku says she is yet to restock goats after they succumbed to drought. Currently, a litre of camel milk is fetching Sh40 compared to that from cows that goes for half that amount.
And in Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate, middlemen who transport the milk from Isiolo Town in jerricans pocket Sh90 per litre. According to Mr Letitiya, a well-fed camel can produce up to 10 litres of milk daily.
By embracing camel rearing, farmers in Laikipia stand to reap maximum benefits.
Source: Daily Nation, Jan 07, 2009
