President Uhuru Kenyatta today said the Government is committed to help farmers improve the quality of beef and dairy produce.
The President said the Government has set up many bull centers across the country and is training more youth to provide artificial insemination services.
He spoke when 40 youth who graduated with a certificate in AI from Ahiti Ndomba, paid him a courtesy call at State House, Nairobi.
The students, who were accompanied by their lecturers and officials from the Kenya Animal Genetic Resource Centre (KAGRC), were later equipped with AI kits to set them up in business. The President had promised them the kits earlier in the year during one of his tours in Kirinyaga County.
The 40 are the first batch of 300 youth the Government is targeting to empower to give AI service to farmers across the country.
“We want to raise the quality of our livestock so that our famers can have better produce of beef and milk,” said President Kenyatta.
“We will encourage governors to work through and alongside you. If the service is subsidized, more farmers will benefit,” said the President.
He also instructed Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary to enable the 40 youth to access Youth Fund loans to buy motorbikes to ease their mobility.
She said the youth, from 37 counties, were benefitting from kits packed with enough nitrogen and semen sufficient to inseminate 100 heifers.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett also attended the meeting.