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SPEECH BY H.E. HON. JAMES E.O. ONGWAE CBS, EBS, OGW THE GOVERNOR,
KISII COUNTY DURING THE OPENING OF THE AGRIBUSINESS & LIVESTOCK
EXHIBITION AT THE GUSII STADIUM ON SEPTEMBER 25
TH
, 2014.
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It gives me great pleasure to preside over the launch of the Kisii County
Agribusiness, Trade and Livestock Exhibition.

This exhibition is an important event that provides a platform for farmers in
the great county of Kisii to learn and share on the latest technology and
modern farming methods.

Indeed, this is in line with our vision, which is to promote food security and
self-reliance through sustainable agricultural growth. It brings together
exhibitors who include service providers in various agricultural value chains.

We are determined to transform the sector from subsistence to modern,
innovative and commercially viable industry.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me take the earliest opportunity to commend the Kenya Livestock
Producers Association (KLPA) and other partners for choosing Kisii County to
host this event in the region.

The importance of the Livestock Sub Sector cannot be gainsaid as it employs
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about 60 per cent of the agricultural labour force in the County. Livestock
enterprises contribute significantly to the local economy as a source of food
and income.

Major livestock enterprises in Kisii County are dairy, poultry, bee keeping,
sheep, goats and other upcoming enterprises such as rabbits.

Indeed, a total of Kshs. 8.1 billion was earned from the sub sector through sale
of various products. With the rapid growth of Kisii Town and other urban
areas, the sub sector has a very high potential for growth and investment, as
there is high demand for livestock and livestock products.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Collaboration between various actors in the County, National government and
Private Sector has seen tremendous investment in the sub sector especially in
the areas goods and service provision.

Lending institutions have also advanced loans to livestock enterprises up to a
tune of Kshs. 50 million was given as loans last year to livestock farmers in the
county.

The Dairy Enterprise;
Dairy farming is widely practiced in Kisii County although largely on small
scale with farmers keeping an average of one cow per household. Farmers
integrate dairy and crop enterprises to maximize on returns and cope with the
diminishing land parcels.
Most of the milk produced is consumed locally and is marketed
predominantly through informal channels. About 216,000 litres is marketed
annually through Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC)s Sotik and Kilgoris
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depots.
Turning to poultry;

My Government has prioritized indigenous poultry farming as an enterprise
that can lead our farmers out of the poverty.
This enterprise is faced with challenges including high incidence of diseases
and lack of organized poultry production and marketing structures.

County Interventions;

To increase food production, generate wealth and create employment, the
County Government has initiated a number or projects, and in the last
financial year, we invested Kshs. 23.3 million in the sub sector.

These include the following;
A total 179 farmer groups were assisted with equipments and breeding
stock.
2250 primary school pupils were given local chicken and cage to help
nurture entrepreneurial skills.
20,000 doses of poultry vaccines were procured and distributed to help
combat poultry diseases.
Bee harvesting kits/sets and hives
294 Dairy Goats for Breeding
Local chicken breeding stock 11,018 distributed
710 Rabbits Breeding stock distributed
31 Feed choppers
43 Spray pumps
22 Deep freezers
3 Artificial Insemination set/kits for 3 community run Artificial
Insemination Schemes in Bobasi to be launched today
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Two commercial livestock feed mill for making livestock feeds
One (1300-litre) bulk milk cooler for milk preservation





Other Projects In The Sub Sector;

To strengthen this value chain, we have collaborated with our partners in the
Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme at a cost of Kshs. 8.2
million for capacity building, fodder production and conservation, breed
improvement and registration, resource mobilization, group marketing,
bulking and value addition and provision of grants for dairy business
development.

Through the Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Programme,
we are using consultants to promote productivity in the dairy and local
chicken value chains and also providing funds for capital development in the
value chain.

Under the Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme, we have
coordinated various actors to create synergy and greater benefits along the
value chains thereby commercializing the enterprises and making them
market oriented.

Other initiatives include the Kenya Agricultural Value Chain Enterprises
Programme, which promotes and provides support to farmer groups along the
dairy value chain; the Kenya Dairy Board, which provides regulations and
standards in the industry among others.

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Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me now mention some of the challenges we face in
this sector. They include;

Low/poor genetic make-up and lack of cost effective breeding services-
To provide and make accessible AI services
Inadequate and poor quality feeds and other inputs
Low entrepreneurial skills and mismanagement of group
activities/marketing
Unorganized marketing systems and Dominance of informal marketing
Inadequate and poor service delivery
High costs of initial investments, inputs and other services
Outdated and obsolete technologies
Prevalence of livestock diseases and poor disease control
Weak enforcement of policies and compliance to standards
Low staffing levels and capacity.
Lack of adequate transport to able to serve farmers effectively

SUGGESTED INTERVENTIONS
Improvement of the genetic make-up through up-scaling use of
Artificial Insemination and acquisition of improved breeding stock.
Improvement of availability and accessibility to quality feeds and other
inputs.
Developing the entrepreneurial and managerial skills of farmers and
farmer groups
Formation of marketing organizations and developing enterprise value
chains.
Developing a synergized and coordinated service delivery system
involving strengthened public private partnership platforms.
Creating linkages with financial institutions to facilitate value chain
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financing.
Embracing modern technologies in agriculture and enhancing
innovativeness
Enhancing pest and disease control and surveillance
Developing a structured and well-facilitated extension delivery system.
Development and implementation of livestock policies both at National
and County levels.

To mitigate the challenges I mentioned earlier, ladies and gentlemen,

My Government has set aside Kshs. 47 million improvement of livestock
production services in the current financial year.

This will be spent in the purchase of breeding stock in the Dairy, local chicken,
rabbits and exotic rabbits enterprises as well as acquisition of bulk milk
coolers.

It is our hope that these interventions and close collaboration with our
partners will improve the agribusiness skills among our farmers thus creating
wealth and a food secure community.

Through Airtel-Kilimo platform, we anticipate that our farmers will enjoy
access to technical and marketing information, thus contributing to
development of our agricultural value chains. Exposure of our farmers to
technology and information will propel our economy towards growth in great
strides.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen,

I wish you fruitful interactions as we work towards nurturing agribusiness
skills and embracing modern technologies in farming.
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I thank you. God bless you!