5,000 acres of land set aside for pasture farming

Five thousand acres of land in Lodokenjek will be dedicated for pasture production.

The county government said it is going to train farmers on how they can earn income from pasture farming in areas that do not support food crop production.

County's Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Executive Vincent Learaman said the county has segregated some zone for livelihood resource.

"As county government of Samburu we are interested in supporting our people to achieve some level of income," Said Learaman.

The county will support farmers in Lodokenjek ward with ploughs, certified seeds and agricultural trainings to make sure that they produce enough pasture.

Learaman announced that the county government will buy hay produced by the farmers and store for the dry season.

"We will buy as the county government and store so that we will be able to support livestock from the low land areas where this pasture cannot be grown," he said.

The CEC noted that, through the farmers in the dedicated zone, Samburu is set to become self-reliant in terms of pasture.

However, farmers in the region have been encouraged to engage in pasture farming as an economic venture.

Hassan Kello, Administrative secretary in the ministry of agriculture, state department of crops said that the national government will support farmers willing to engage in pasture farming as a business.

He noted that Samburu is one of the counties that face severe drought and hunger.

"Because we want our people to have a fall back during the times of drought, we are going to promote pasture production," he said.

Further, he said that most grazing conflicts and cattle rustling takes place during the dry seasons and hence this vice would end if pastoralists were encouraged to grow pasture in their farms. 

"As the state department we want to make sure that every household has planted pasture enough for their animals to avoid them trespassing to other people’s lands and causing deaths and more that they can sell to earn a decent living," he said.