By D, KNA
The Kenya Meteorological Department has predicted poor rainfall distribution pattern and below-average precipitation during this years’ short rain season in Kajiado county.
This not only affects food production for humans but it also leads to lack of pasture and water for the livestock which is the predominant source of income for Kajiado pastoralists.
Most of the pastoralists have already relocated their animals in search of pasture but the situation is uncertain considering the poor rainfall distribution prediction and a potentially devastating drought is looming.
There is however hope for the pastoralists who have resorted to plant fodder crops which offers a buffer against such shocks.
A fodder expert from China, Mr. Jack Liu, introduced a Chinese magic grass known as Juncao four years ago at his model farm in Kitengela.
According to Peninah Karimi, the sales manager at the Juncao Kitengela model farm, juncao is a perennial hybrid grass that was introduced in China 30 years ago with an aim of reducing animal mortality.
In an interview with Kenya News Agency, Karimi said that though juncao grass looks like the local Napier grass, juncao is multi-functional as it controls soil erosion, soil degradation and soil desertification and it provides micronutrients for livestock in addition to coping with climate change.
“Juncao has a crude protein of 18.6 per cent and a high sucrose level of 7 per cent which is very beneficial to animals as they need energy for better production. With Juncao, the farmers will save on costs as they won’t be buying molasses to make silage unlike when they use the local Napier,” stated Karimi.
Juncao, which is also pest free and non-invasive, takes 3 months to grow to maturity for harvesting.
One acre of juncao can give 180 metric tonnes of fodder which translates to a whole year of sufficient fodder supply for 20 cows.
Karimi explains that juncao can also be used to feed all the different livestock at the farm be it cows, goats, chicken or camel.
A farmer can feed juncao to livestock either as fresh feeds from the farm, as silage, as dry matter or as pellets.
“To plant an acre of juncao, a farmer will need 9,000 cuttings each with two nodes. We discourage the use of fertilizers but encourage farmers to use the animal manure and water either rain fed or irrigated,” stated Karimi.
Juncao can be harvested within 45-60 days thus a farmer can be able to harvest 5 times per year.
“We advise farmers to harvest the grass when it is between 1 to 2 metres. That is when the grass is full of nutrients and can be well digested before it turns into a hard stalk full of fiber which only makes the cows full but lack production,” said Karimi.
Data from the National Drought Management Authority(NDMA) shows that livestock contributions account for 80 per cent of household incomes in arid lands and 65 per cent in semi-arid lands.
Drought has been shown to reduce economic growth in Kenya by 2.8 per cent per year with 72 per cent concentrated in the livestock sector.
Over 2.6million livestock deaths across 23 arid and semi-arid counties were reported by NDMA during the prolonged drought leading up to 2023.