By Betty Luke
An ongoing goat project targeting residents who lost livestock to the recent drought and banditry activities is set to offer an alternative means of owning goats to Morans in Waso ward, Samburu County.
The program, being implemented by the county Department of Livestock, seeks to restock livestock for the needy persons including the elderly and women in the county.
In Waso Ward, 30 Morans were part of 150 residents who Wednesday benefited from the initiative, each receiving a Galla-breed goat that they will be crossbred with local breeds.
Gala breed has a faster growth rate, a higher market weight and produces higher milk yields compared to the common breeds and is known for its resilience to harsh climatic conditions.
The breed takes around six months to mature and attain the market price, different from the common breed that takes up to one year.
Area MCA Kelvin Lemantaan said inclusion of the Morans was aimed at persuading them to shun cattle rustling which has made the region lag behind in terms of development.
“We cannot rally tell them to abandon cattle rustling while we are not offering an alternative source of income. The initiative will help them cross breed and increase their animals, enabling them to completely abandon the culture of banditry,” he noted.
He reiterated his commitment to support the Morans to start income generating initiatives including farming through provision of enablers and benchmarking programs.
“In the last one year, I have been organizing benchmarking activities for the Morans for them to learn from their colleagues in other counties on the kind of businesses they are doing,” he noted.
Mr Morris Lekiloi, a local moran, said the aid was timely as majority of the young men were now engaging in livestock theft to compensate for those they had lost during the prolonged drought.
“We usually raid to restock our animals but since this is a unique breed that matures very fast, there will be a significant decrease in banditry incidents,” he said.
Mr Lemantaan has been in the frontline in the fight against cattle rustling and championing coexistence among communities in Isiolo and Samburu counties.
