From a well-paying job to animal rearing

Mrs Josphine Sena at her farm in Ololung'a in Narok North sub-county in Narok County.She left her well-paying NGO job to venture into men-dominated field of livestock keeping. [PHOTO:ROBERT KIPLAGAT /STANDARD]

She left her well-paying job with an international organisation eight years to venture into male-dominated livestock keeping and she is happy that she did.

Josephine Sena, who is in her 50s and from the pastoral Maasai community, says was ridiculed mostly by men when she started buying animals at the livestock market in Ololung’a, Narok North Sub-county. She is now a commercial Sahiwal-breed livestock keeper.

Before going into animal rearing, she had tried to farm maize but the yields were disastrous and she gave up on the crop.

She says the high cost of maize production left her with heavy losses.

Her cows are not affected by weather changes and can be shifted from one place to another.

She sells young bulls and heifers at local markets where the demand is high. The breed is popular for beef, milk and breeding.

“I sell two-year-old bulls at between Sh120,000 and Sh150,000 and young bulls for between Sh50,000 to Sh100,000. The demand is high as market outweighs the supply,” says Sena.

TIDY SUM

Sena sells her livestock twice a year and fetches a tidy sum annually. She enjoys the job as it is less demanding in terms of maintenance and feeding. During the rainy season, the animals are set free to graze on her vast ranch.

“Over the ten years I planted maize, I never got the good returns I have realised in livestock keeping. There is money in livestock. I earn ten times more than I did when I was in crop production.”

To prepare the bulls for the market, there are three rotational stages - birth, feeding and finally the fattening stage.

Like any other business, even livestock rearing has its challenges. The dry spell poses the greatest challenge to livestock keepers as water sources and vegetation dries up.

“Feeding livestock is never an easy task and during the recent January to April drought, many pastoralists lost their livestock. Without proper feeding, the health of the animals goes down as they lose weight instantly,” says Sena.

To curb future uncertainty as a result of drought, Sena has invested heavily in livestock feed such as maize and grass, which she stores for future consumption.

Sena, however, advises women that they should not set limitations for themselves but break barriers and venture into livestock farming, saying that they will not regret it.

LUCRATIVE VENTURE

Traditionally in Maasai culture, she adds, a woman’s relationship with cattle was only to milk cows. The meat and proceeds from the livestock solely belonged to men.

“I am challenging girls never to be selective in business. Livestock rearing is a lucrative venture. I have also recruited my daughter into the business and she has developed interest as I have encouraged her. Passion and drive will make you succeed in whatever business you choose.”

Now that Sena is a serious livestock businesswoman, many respect her and seek her advice. She readily guides those seeking knowledge. She says eight years is long enough to become an ‘expert’ of sorts in a field you have specialised in.