Kiambu poultry breeders want governor Ferdinand Waititu to set aside Sh1.5 billion to cushion them against market volatility.
They said the sector is offering livelihood to 300,000 farmers, making it a major wealth creator.
Led by Muiruri Mbuthi, they said currently the poultry sector is facing stiff competition from the East African Community (EAC) rivals.
“We want our governor to support this sector with Sh1.5 billion to be used in reducing the cost of production. This is by way of establishing poultry feed factory that will be selling to us feeds at lower costs. It should as well set up a Kiambu poultry producer group as a cooperative society,” he said.
The co-operative society will be supported by affordable credit for breed improvement and husbandry aspects with a view to increasing production and quality.
“The kitty will also help us in diversifying our entrepreneurial ventures as opposed to the current situation where almost all of our poultry breeders are targeting the eggs market. Some of us can branch off to meat sector, others invest in incubators while others can venture into breeding chicken for sale,” he said.
Mr Mbuthi said one of the major hindrances to a maximum returns and ability to compete for a market share is cost of poultry feeds.
“We are competing with traders from Tanzania and Uganda where a 50 kilo bag of layers meal retails at Sh800. The same costs Sh2, 500 here. That is more than three times expense. Add the counterfeits threat in the vaccines sector in Kenya and the situation becomes more complex, leaving us with no solid footing to be relevant in the market,” he said.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
