KENYA – The Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA) wants action to be taken to halt the sale of adulterated and poor-quality animal feeds across the country.
The Association on Monday, April, 1 called upon the government to expand the ongoing fake fertiliser crackdown on those selling substandard animal feeds.
According to Doctor Kelvin Osore, who is vying for KVA’s Chairperson, the proliferation of fake animal feeds within the market is a worrying development that needs to be addressed promptly.
“In the animal resources industry, we have a lot of fake animal feeds circulating the market and farmers are bearing the brunt. We also have a lot of fake semen. Farmers can hardly differentiate between the premium products and the counterfeit ones in the market,” he remarked.
He said there is a need to equip the Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB) and the Kenya Veterinary Medicines Directorate (KVMD) to enforce the law on fake drugs, animal feeds and semen.
Substandard products for sale represent a threat to Kenya’s food security, said Osore.
Osore is reported to be standing for the KVA chairmanship. He has also called for improvements to the welfare of the country’s veterinarians and the establishment of a national animal health resource centre.
Speaking to The Standard, Halima Nenkare, director of Livestock Production in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, recently, said that Kenyan livestock farming is becoming less sustainable due to the impacts of climate change.
Nenkare highlighted that between 60% and 80% of the costs of animal production come from feed, however, a recent study has revealed a 60% shortage in the national feed supply, as well as post-harvest losses of more than 45%.
The country’s total annual feed requirement is 55 million metric tons.
According to Nenkare, the administration is now planning to ensure adequate supplies of ingredients for compound feeds by encouraging contracts between growers and feed manufacturers.
Furthermore, she said, there will be a renewed focus on setting up feed storage facilities in every local government area.
Established as cooperatives, livestock farmers will be able to access feeds and forages from these stores. It is hoped these will even out supplies during the year, as well as reduce post-harvest losses.
Kenyan government has also committed to investing in capacity development in the value chain, as well as establishing a feed technology training center, and laboratory facilities for feed quality control, safety and assurance.
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