Livestock census set to kick off in Sipili

By David Kiarie

Livestock officers in Sipili division are planning to carry out a livestock census exercise for the next one month to help keep a record of all domestic animals in the area.

According to Sipili divisional livestock extension officer Peter Mukono, the exercise which will kick off in a few days time is meant to update the existing records of animals in the region to help them serve and farmers better.

“We want to know the potential of all animals in this region including pets like dogs and cats because this will help us know the farmers’ needs and assist us in prioritizing our work,” Mukono told Laikipia Rural voices.

He said the exercise would give the real picture indicating the areas with more animals than others and establish the reasons behind this.

The livestock officer said the current record of animals was compiled several years ago before Sipili was curved from Ngarua division.

“Our interest is to increase production of the various animals which include cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, poultry and donkeys among others and so we shall endavour to protect them from diseases through training on disease  control, feeding and much more,” Mukono said.

Meanwhile, the department of livestock will be offering advisory services to farmers once a month in order to equip them with required information relating to animal farming

The services will be offered for a whole day at Kahuruko trading centre and at Sipili divisional headquarters. Farmers are urged to take advantage of the session in order to have their questions answered by livestock experts.