The Kenya Veterinary Association has called for an overhaul of the livestock sector to address challenges such as the quality of animal products and marketing.
Africa Veterinary and Technicians Association president Benson Ameda said the livestock sector and slaughter of animals has been invaded by unscrupulous traders whose only interest is quick money.
Ameda attributed some of the health complications recorded among human beings to eating uninspected meat with high drug residue.
“At the moment, the quality of meat from various slaughterhouses in the country has been compromised and it's time that this was addressed,” he said.
Ameda supported President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive to move the Kenya Meat Commission from Agriculture to the Defence ministry.
He said for years the facility had been mismanaged, amid concerns about the source of their livestock.
He proposed that KDF should construct and manage slaughterhouses in all the counties for the safety of the product.
“The government should now second meat inspectors in KMC and Kenyans will have confidence in products from the facility,” he said.
KVA national chairman Samuel Kahariri said for years pastoralists had little to celebrate for a lack of market.
Kahariri said that the presidential directive would help revive the meat factory which was currently heavily indebted and facing tens of challenges.
“For years, KMC has been used by politicians to dump stolen livestock and with the takeover, consumers are assured of the quality of the meat,” he said.
He noted that the original objective of KMC was to showcase the country’s beef products to other countries and help in exporting the meat but this had failed.
“We have instead witnessed the worst practices in the beef value chain and the next move is to overhaul the whole livestock system,” he said.
The facility's debts stand at Sh1.1 billion, which includes farmer’s unpaid debts at Sh254 million and Sh300 million owed to the state.