Kiambu Youth, Farmers Advised To Invest In Kienyeji Rearing To Pull Away From Jaws Of Poverty.
In Kenya and Africa
at large, small scale farming is a way of life full of challenges but equally
full of huge opportunities. The
unprecedented population surge in Kenya has led to high rate of unemployment and
depletion of land and natural resources. Many families are struggling to make
ends meet.
The depletion of farm land has caused harsh economic times
with most households in urban setups nowadays depending on less than a ¼-acre
plots to meet their daily needs.
It is for this reason that Kiambu Sub-County Livestock
Officer Margaret Gathoni advised Kiambu residents to better utilise their land
through sustainable agricultural methods.
“One of the best opportunities for small-scale farmers can
be through indigenous poultry production. Rearing kienyeji chicken is cheap,
less labourious and have high returns. They not only produce quality meat but
also have a ready market,” she said.
She added that indigenous chicken farming dominated
the poultry farming of the country with about 90% of the population in
Kenya keeping small flocks of chickens in free range.
“This type of farming is very flexible and requires
very little space. Our people need to exploit this opportunity because it
offers quick returns to the farmers in relatively simple ways of managing
them,” said Gathoni.
She added that kienyeji rearing was one sure way to
eradicate poverty and an
opportunity for self-employment, becoming self-reliant
and responsible members of the community.
In this way, she said, there would be
reduced cases of social ills as many more people especially the youth will be
able to earn their living genuinely. The economic standard and quality of life
of the resident of Kiambu County will hence improve as they can produce their organic
food and earn some cash from the project.
“Nairobi and Kiambu County actually has a shortage of
kienyeji eggs and chickens. Our poultry farmers have confirmed there is high
demand for eggs and chicken and they are unable to meet the demand as a result
of few farmers venturing in modern poultry farming. Most of our poultry farmers
just rear less than 10 chickens for domestic use. Our rural farmers hardly sell
or slaughter their chicken except during festival seasons or when an important
guest visits. So, the few who rear more chickens are unable to satisfy the
ever-increasing market,” she said.
To address the
shortage, she encourages Kiambu youth to venture into this business so as to
free themselves from the yoke of poverty and joblessness.
“It was apparent the youth cannot not continue complaining
forever or feel sorry for themselves. Wriggling your way out of financial
quagmire remains your only feasible solution. With a starting capital of Ksh.
1,500 you can buy two hens, a cock and some eggs and start your free-range
rearing project,” said Gathoni.
She advised them that they could raise their chickens in a
semi-intensive system with an area measuring 8X10 meters inside a wire mesh
enclosure 8ft high. The poultry house can be constructed using locally
available materials.
She said that the birds can spend most of the day within the
restricted area and are only allowed to move outside for an hour a day to
scavenge, an inborn trait. This system, she said, makes it easy to manage the
chickens, requires a low level of labour and enables the farmer to control any
loss of eggs as well as mortality rates and pests and diseases. They will also
get ample time to do other chores.
The chicken manure can be applied to the garden to boost the
soil fertility and grow vegetables like kale (sukumawiki) to sell for human
consumption and as a supplementary feed for the chickens. Growing the kale and
vegetables together is an example of the perfect symbiosis between animals and
plants that far too often is avoided in today’s agricultural practices.
To achieve optimum production, the farmer can also feed
their birds with high-nutrition feeds including kale, milling waste, green
grass, kitchen waste, sunflowers, cereals, and omena-fish meal and kienyeji
mash, a local home-made feed. While scavenging in the evening, the birds go for
insects, wild seeds, and maggots, as well as ticks from around the cows’ pen,
acting as a biological pest control.
I need kari improved kienyeji one month
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