Farmers in Kitui are set to benefit from a local grass project established to promote livestock production.
The project started by Kitui government in partnership with South Eastern Kenya University (Seku) will help farmers during dry spells when there is scarcity of pasture.
A statement from the office of Deputy Governor Wathe Nzau said about 500 kilogrammes of grass seeds will be harvested from 100 acres at the university’s main campus.
Nzau recently visited the university to assess the progress of the project.
The two institutions entered into a partnership in 2018-19 to plant various types of indigenous grass.
The overall objective is to improve the quality of livestock in line with Governor Charity Ngilu's wealth creation agenda.
“Another 100-acre piece of land was fenced and divided into paddocks to enable the county government buy weak and emaciated cattle from farmers during dry spells and feed them before selling them at a higher price,” the statement reads.
It added that during last week’s visit to Seku, Nzau and university officials agreed that grass harvesting should start immediately.
The approximately 500 kilogrammes of seeds to be harvested will be used to open up an additional 100 acres for the grass project in September, ahead of the October-December rains.
Edited by Frank Obonyo