The government is in the process of rolling out an Animal Identification and Traceability System (ANTITRAC) that will ensure identification of animals from the owner, breed to the vaccination it has received.
Speaking during the opening of the Nambale livestock sale yard in Busia County on Wednesday, Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke said the ANITRAC software, which is at the piloting stage at the government farms, will be rolled out to the county for every animal to have an identification number.
“Every animal will have a tag with a chip. The code from the tag, when keyed in,will provide the name of the animal owner, the weight of an animal and when it was born.
It will also indicate the quantity of milk it produces and the type of vaccine it has received. This will make it easy for the market and even improve the price of the animal, which will be profitable to the farmers,” he said.
Mueke added that the government has put measures in place that will ensure farmers produce high-quality animals that will produce products of high quality.
“The market demand for our animal products is high but the challenge has been low productivity. We have the National Breed Improvement programme through artificial insemination and embryo transfer. These interventions are done at a government subsidy to help improve the breeds of our farmers.
This will also help them to meet the market demand on the quality and quantity of the produce required,” he said.
He lauded the quality of the market, adding that this will create job opportunities for many people in the county.
“This is a modern market and I can confirm the quality is fine. The market has the quarantine area, sale yard for cattle and goats, shade, stalls and officers. This project is going to create job opportunities for youth in all sectors from transport, security, and casual work to the food sector. This is among the interventions the government is taking to create job opportunities for the youth of this country,” he said.
The livestock sale yard was constructed by the national government in partnership with the County Government of Busia under a Kelcop project at a cost of Sh 23 million.
Director of Livestock Production Bishar Fille Elmi stated that Busia County is heavily involved in livestock farming.
“In Busia County, we have 1.2 million poultry. We also have 217,000 cattle, 197,000 goats and 112,000 sheep. The animals are treated annually in this county; for instance, last year 72,000 cattle were treated, 96,000 sheep and goats and 100,000 poultry were also treated,” he said.
Busia County CECM for Agriculture George Mukok stated that the market will stimulate the production of livestock in the region.
“We need to produce for us to ensure the market continues to operate. This will now call for us to do more livestock production in our county and the neighbouring counties. The quarantine section in this market will ensure that only healthy animals have been bought and taken out with a permit,” he said.
Mukok added that the identification project initiated by the national government will help in ensuring there are no theft cases at the market.
“The identification initiative is going to play a key part in ensuring the safety of our livestock from home up to the market.
My call to everyone in this country is to get into livestock and poultry keeping because we want to integrate everyone in this so that all of us can get the benefit that comes with this farming,” he said.
He further said the county government is formulating a law that will ensure a fraction of the revenue raised at the market will be retained and help to do maintenance.
Busia County Commissioner Mwachaunga Chaunga challenged the residents of the County to engage more in farming to be able to provide raw material for agricultural industries.
“The government is investing much in this County in terms of industrialisation. We have the EPZ and County aggregation and industrial park at Nasewa, which are almost done. These industries will not be important if we don’t engage much in farming to provide raw material from sunflower all along to the cotton,” he said.
Chaunga further said the government is constructing around 11 markets which are at various levels and this is to ensure that business people from the county have a good environment to do their business.
Nambale Market Management Committee Chairperson Jackline Musungu said the project will help them to curb theft cases.
“As traders, we have been losing our livestock due to lack of a holding place at the market. The modern market now provides the place for us and this means our livestock will be safe when at the market,” she said.
Musungu further stated that they have been empowered by Kelcop on their rights and the rights of other traders at the market.
By Salome Alwanda and Rodgers Omondi
