When I was growing up in Busia, Western Kenya, almost every homestead reared chicken, just a sizeable stock for their own consumption, rarely for commercial purposes. In my community alone chicken is prized above any other livestock, and if not being chased down the neighborhood to signify the arrival of a respectable visitor, or for ceremonial purposes, then its allowed to pop eggs that come in handy when an essential commodity like salt or matchbox is needed and no cash; barter trade.
But very few people thought that chicken could be more than just stew, no one envisioned a state where chicken is the main source of income in the home. Whenever a chicken trader called on a farmer to buy their chicken, most people were skeptical, but not anymore. Not when the kienyeji (local) chicken is on high demand, not only in the country but beyond, as far as Middle East and Europe.
Today with devolution, counties are striving to educate their people on the profitability of this venture, if taken seriously. The educated youths who could’ve been responsible for this lucrative venture are all stuck up in the city lining up for white collar jobs the government can’t provide.
So progressive governors and their administrations, and other stakeholders have taken it upon themselves to arm this poor rural folks with a skill to turn their chicken farming into a profitable venture and better their lives in the long run. And not only counties but NGOs, individuals, and local chamas as well. In the city you can’t see what’s going on out here, until you are here. I tell you it’s impressive.
Farmers in mashinani seem to have transformed overnight. In our home for instance, on Mondays about two dozen chicken farmers come together for their weekly chama meeting, discussing issues to do with chicken farming; chicken diseases, feeds, markets, etc. They have their leadership including my own sister-in-law, at whose house they meet. But because of COVID-19 they’ve been forced to have it outside in the yard where they space chairs at an acceptable distance — mother insists! She’s among the members and has a mouth-watering flock herself.
But all this has not been without its challenges, at least from what I heard from those farmers gathered in our home and from my own mom, if I’m to use her as a case study.
Farmers don’t invest in proper infrastructure and good structures because of limited funds. So most farmers have poorly constructed houses to house their birds leading to poor growth. The chicken leave in deplorable conditions, crowded with no proper ventilation hence risk of disease outbreak. Also, the limited funds makes it impossible to rear more chicken and so most people are forced to only raise a handful that they can accommodate.
Another serious issue is security. Security is important for any livestock farmer to avoid losses. In this Western region where there’s a sugarcane plantation at every corner you turn, you need a perimeter fence to keep away mongooses, wild dogs — like the one that recently ate my ducklings — and other predators.
A good fence around the chicken house and where the birds walk and graze is advisable, something this farmers don’t take seriously and always overlook. My own mother keeps losing chicken on the road — we are next to the busy Nambale-Butula road — that are always being hit by vehicles and motorbikes. Because of free-range, chicken are allowed to roam freely around the homestead, and if you have a faulty fence like ours, then the birds will get out hence hard to account for all of them.
There are other issues like diseases which these farmers are trying to manage, but because of the age factor and education of some of the farmers in this group, it’s likely they would get wrong the vaccination timetable, and you can’t blame them. And so they have to be followed and helped every now and then. The Newcastle and Gumboro diseases which are some of the deadliest among chicken farmers have to be controlled through vaccination and it’s a challenge to them.
Those above are some of the most challenging, and I’m glad to note that market is no longer an issue, actually never was. The demand for the kienyeji chicken around the country is at all time high and more farmers are being encouraged to try this lucrative venture. Young people like myself are being encouraged to come in with our energy and fresh ideas.
And that’s the reason through this blog we would try to inform and encourage youths stuck in towns and cities tarmacking about such venture as this.