Over 500 farmers from Bahari and Witu wards in Lamu County have benefitted from 21 freezers and over 500 bucks and heifers.
The Lamu county initiative in partnership with World Bank-funded Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture program support to farmers from 38 interest groups is meant to boost dairy and fish farming across the county.
Addressing the farmer group members during the distribution exercise, Lamu County C.E.C.M for Agriculture James Gichu said that the smallholder livestock beneficiary groups, received the heifers, bucks and freezers following a training to equip them with skills on successful dairy and fish farming organized by the county government in partnership with KCSAP.
The C.E.C.M further assured farmers that Lamu County Government will continue to encourage collaboration with like-minded development partners that will help to push Lamu’s dairy farming development agenda.
“The County government of Lamu will remain steadfast towards enhancing food security and rural poverty eradication through improved disposable income to smallholder agro-pastoral households” said Gichu.
KCSAP County Program coordinator, Steven Mbuvi, urged the groups to take care of the livestock for posterity and not seek short-term benefits.
Lamu County is among the 24 Counties earmarked to benefit from the KCSAP project that had stalled over a year ago.
The Government of Kenya project jointly supported by the World Bank aims at increasing agricultural productivity and enhance resilience to climate change risks in select targeted smallholder farming and pastoral communities in Kenya.
The beneficiaries appreciated Lamu County government saying they will be able to fight hunger and poverty.
In attendance were officials from Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Program (KCSAP), State Department of Agriculture and Lamu County Government officials .