Dairy farmers in Limuru have been asked to embrace artificial insemination over natural mating when breeding their livestock, especially cattle as this will improve the quality of their livestock.
Speaking from his office on Thursday, Limuru Sub-County Veterinary Officer Dr James Mululu said that the advantages of artificial insemination outweigh those of natural insemination and that farmers should therefore opt for the former.
He asked farmers to stop clinging to traditional methods noting that traditional bull insemination was no longer relevant and was giving rise to inferior breeds of cattle. He added that natural mating which still had a strong hold in most farms was the key cause of lower milk production among small-scale farmers in Limuru, and they should be ready to adapt new technological changes to improve their venture.
Dr Mululu told farmers that it was only through artificial insemination that the farmers would upgrade the quality of their livestock as a cow could be inseminated using the sperm of a higher quality breed.
He said that this method also helped to spread the venereal diseases caused by genital contact and sterility because the semen collected to be used for the process was tested for harmful pathogens.
The veterinarian explained that individual farmers can use this method to increase the genetic pool with which his animals can be mated thus potentially increasing the effects of inbreeding. He said that the services were offered affordably from as low as Sh500 to Sh1,500 and that farmers should not blame high costs as the reasons for not embracing the technology.
He urged farmers to be cautious when hiring the services of a veterinary to ensure that they hired professionals so as not to put the health of their livestock at risk.
The veterinary doctor asked farmers in the villages to educate each other on new and improved farming technologies so that they can collectively improve their yields.