MAKUENI BETS BIG ON POULTRY FARMING
Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili on Monday led the launch of the “Mifugo ni Mali project” at the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) in Kwakathoka, marking a major boost for poultry farming in Makueni County.
The initiative, implemented in partnership with the KCB Foundation, is designed to strengthen poultry production through rigorous farmer training, coaching and mentoring, alongside regular farm inspections to ensure quality and sustainability.
At the launch, 17 farmers including women, youth and persons with disabilities, each received 300 vaccinated one-day-old chicks to kick-start and expand their enterprises.
The programme is anchored on an MOU between the County Government of Makueni and the KCB Foundation, under which the foundation supports the growth of small and medium enterprises through business development, with the aim of creating wealth and employment, particularly among women and young people.
Under the partnership, the county government will provide continuous extension services, veterinary support and access to existing cold chain and vaccine-handling infrastructure to participating farmers, strengthening production and disease control at the grassroots.
According to Mulili, Poultry farming remains the most widespread livestock enterprise in Makueni, with about 85 per cent of farmers rearing poultry. Mulili further notes that the County statistical abstract data validated in 2023 indicates that the poultry subsector was valued at KSh 3.77 billion in 2022, supported by an estimated 1.57 million birds.
This, she says, reflects a growth of 55 per cent since 2013, underscoring the sector’s rising contribution to household incomes and food and nutrition security.
The County Executive Committee Member in charge of Agriculture Elizabeth Muli noted that the department has also been intensifying efforts to transform poultry production, including increasing the productivity of local chicken from an average of 45–60 eggs per hen per year to between 120 and 180 eggs.
According to Muli, More than 240 incubators are currently operational across the county, producing between 100 and 1,056 chicks per cycle, while 476 village-level vaccination service providers have been trained and equipped to strengthen disease control.
Through the collaboration with the KCB Foundation, the county aims to stimulate further growth in the poultry value chain, improve linkages in input supply and markets, and enhance incomes and livelihoods for farming households across Makueni.
KCB Human Resource Manager Kenya, Cleophas Ambira and the area MCA Elizabeth Mutinda graced the occasion.
