Isiolo women urged to keep poultry to end hunger

Isiolo County officials have urged women to venture into poultry keeping as an alternative source of livelihood as drought continues to wreak havoc in northern Kenya, threatening pastoralism, which is the region’s economic mainstay, and exposing millions to hunger.

With the harsh economic times occasioned by the threat of Covid-19, previous locust invasion and the ongoing drought, appeals have been made for pastoralists to diversify their sources of income to cushion themselves against climatic shocks.

County Director of Veterinary Services Joseph Muriera said besides allowing them to earn extra income and augment their husband’s efforts to provide for their families, poultry keeping will boost their families’ nutrition.

“This, alongside camel keeping, is among the drought-resilient projects we are keen to support in efforts to ensure the communities are food-secure,” he said, adding that it was easy for women to initiate the project at a small scale.

Nutritional value

With the county among those battling with high malnutrition among under-fives and pregnant and lactating women, eggs and meat from the birds would help reverse the situation.

He spoke during a benchmarking exercise for a group of Isiolo women in Karama model village, where a 200-member women poultry value addition project is funded by the Meru government in partnership with Korea Program for International Cooperation in Agricultural Technology.

“Venturing into poultry keeping is a journey towards women's financial independence and will enable them to support their husbands to provide for their families and even contribute to improved health status of their households,” the group’s chairperson, Grace Kobia, said.

The group was trained in basic poultry rearing and financial skills by Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF).

Also read: A profit of Sh5,000 motivated poultry farming business

Women in pastoralist communities usually focus on domestic chores and sometimes look after family livestock but are not allowed to own anything and have been entirely relying on their husbands to provide for their families.

But by rearing chicken, Dr Muriera said, they will become contributors to their household income as they will sell eggs and chicken and contribute towards enhancing food security.

Some of the communities, including Samburu, are still trapped in ancient cultural norms that bar women from rearing or consuming chicken or eggs, but the trend is slowly changing following continued sensitisation.

Also read: Are you interested in chicken farming?

More than 150, 000 residents in the county face starvation due to drought, which has seen over 80 per cent of water sources dry up and pastures get depleted.

Water and pasture shortage has sparked resource-based conflicts and exposed pastoralists to inexplicable suffering from losses to drought and cattle rustling.

Meru’s Kiirua-Naari MCA Makena Murogocho said gone were the days when women stayed at home and waited for their husbands to provide for them. “Their empowerment is not meant to outshine men but complement their efforts,” she said, asking men to support their wives’ ventures.

Dr Muriera said the veterinary department will continue to support farmers on disease control and advise on the right animal feed.

“We will continue to capacity-build them so that they increase the numbers and commercialise their ventures for improved incomes,” he said.

Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo has cited diversification into crop farming among other ways of ensuring food security and promised to support farmers to increase productivity.

Earlier in the week, he announced that infrastructure for irrigating 70 acres in Malkadaka, 200 acres in Bulesa and 20 acres in Ngaremara was almost ready.