Agriculture CS Peter Munya launches Sh1 billion Semen plant

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya on Friday officially commissioned a Sh1 billion semen plant in Trans Nzoia.

The Agricultural Development Corporation's Livestock Genetic Centre in Endebess Sub-County will offer farmers the opportunity to get high-yielding livestock breeds.

Munya said the facility will help to lower the cost of semen in the country.

"This plant is a major boost to dairy farming in the country, and I'm happy that the investment is worth and going to make the cost of semen in the country affordable to farmers," Munya said during the launch.

Accompanied by ADC board chairman Nick Salat, the CS urged farmers in North Rift and Western regions to take advantage of the facility to transform their dairy farming activities by breeding high-quality dairy cows.

"This project is a milestone in the pursuance to attain food security agenda. We encourage farmers to take advantage of the facility to secure breeds of high yielding livestock," said Munya.

The CS said a refrigerated vehicle will be provided to help ADC supply semen across the country.

He said the government will provide additional funds for the expansion and equipping the facility to meet the demand for semen locally and internationally.

He said the government will provide funds to enable ADC to acquire 30 additional bulls from South Africa to scale up semen production.

"The government will inject in more funds to equip and expand the centre to meet the high demand for semen. We will also support ADC acquired a feed milling plant," Munya responded to a request by ADC Managing Director Mohammed Bulle.

Bulle said the recent importation of 19 additional super breed bulls will enhance semen production from the current 30,000 doses per month to 50,000 doses per month.

"We require 30 additional bulls in order to be able to increase semen production from the current 30,000 to 50,000 doses per month. This will boost production of milk and beef,’’ said Bulle.

He observed that the semen centre, which is the second-largest in the country after Kabete, has since its inception in 2018 produced 489,774 doses out of which 157,844 doses were distributed to farmers through registered semen providers.

The centre, he noted, can produce a million doses yearly.

New KCC Managing Director Nixon Sigey said the completion of the modernisation programme of the Kitale factory will boost milk intake.

Sigey asked farmers to transform their breeds in order to benefit from good milk prices.

Sigey specifically urged the Pokot pastoralists to replace their traditional livestock breeds with super breeds from the semen available at ADC.