The Kakamega government has embarked on the third phase of its one cow initiative to boost the dairy industry.
The county government yesterday launched a Ksh23 million training centre for dairy farmers to increase production dubbed the Lugari Dairy Smart Farm.
The smart farm is situated at Kabras County Polytechnic in Chevaywa ward, Lugari sub-county.
Kakamega County Deputy Governor Professor Philip Kutima (pictured), who is also the Agriculture executive, said the smart farm will serve as a learning centre for local farmers and agriculture students at the polytechnic.
Prof Kutima said farmers will be trained on best practices to increase production and to uphold best practices in the dairy value chain.
“We are investing in this project to equip students and farmers with knowledge in dairy farming to increase milk production in the county. The project sits on a 10-acre piece of land and will also serve as a milk collection centre for farmers before delivery to Malava Dairy plant once the factory is operational,” said Kutima.
More initiatives
The programme began in 2015 and targets to assist farmers to upgrade their stock and increase milk production before establishment of a multi-million milk processing plant in Malava subcounty.
Similar smart farms in Lurambi and Matungu sub-counties were operational. The two farms are at Bukura Agricultural College and Matungu Polytechnic. The county government plans to build a smart farm in each of the 12 sub-counties by December 2019.
Kelly Nelima, the county chief officer in charge of Livestock and Fisheries, said a beneficiary of the smart farm project must have an acre of land with fodder, a unit housing dairy animal, clean water and must be a member of cooperative society.
“The farmer must have the capacity to do routine management like vaccination and tick control,” he said.
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