Livestock

Meet Daniel Hojman of Afimilk, a company specialising in dairy management in the Jordan Valley, Israel, popularly known as Kibbutz Afikim and famed as one of the best-run dairy farms in the world. It is farms such as that of...

This feature was first published in Seeds of Gold. The skin is the largest organ of an animal and the most visible indicator of its health status. It is commendable that you pay close attention to your animals and note...

A sweet smell of pineapple hits my nostrils as I approach Josphat Sirma’s farm in Nkoroi, Rongai on the outskirts of Nairobi. One may think that the farmer grows the fruits, but Sirma keeps dairy cows — over 50 of...

Of the many diseases that affect livestock, Nagana (African trypanosomiasis) ranks among the most destructive, causing untold suffering in animals and huge losses to farmers. Caused by the flagellated protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma lives in the fluids and tissue of its...

The following feature was first published in the Seeds of Gold Magazine. Many times when an agribusiness idea is labelled a money spinner, people venture into it without considering the dynamics involved, particularly where to sell their products. It happened with...

While growing up in Holland in 1960s, I used to hear stories of how beautiful Kenya was from my parents and relatives. Those of us who had not visited Kenya had mental images of its lovely beaches and breathtaking sceneries. In...

Dressed in a white coat, he is standing between wooden stands inside a cow shed. The structure is home to black and white-stripped Friesian cows on a section of his 50-acre parcel at Kapseret, west of Eldoret Town. The cows...

Unless ingenious and urgent measures are employed to address the myriad challenges facing the livestock sector, in particularly high cost of feeds, farmers will continue to get low returns. Fortunately, a few entrepreneurs have noticed the gap in fodder production...

Charles Kimenju feeds his rabbits on what looks like very dry grass that one may consider unpalatable to the animals. “This hay is what is good for rabbits. Many offer their bunnies green matter but it may lead to death,”...

Inside a wooden pen somewhere in Rongai, on the outskirts of Nairobi, some 15 goats wearing yellow plastic tags that resemble earrings chew hay while others lounge on the wooden floor chewing cud. Adjacent to the pen is another holding...