[Residents of Wajir with camels loaded with jerrycans of water. Livestock health, prices and weight in the region has improved after April - May rains received that increased pasture. Photo/Star.)
Rains received in April - May in Wajir has improved livestock health and weight, Wajir North sub county livestock development officer Francis Ndung’u has said.
According to Ndung'u, goats, sheep and cattle have made remarkable improvement.
“Camels have also shown significant improvement in their body condition compared to April, although they were not so much affected by the January to March dry spell,” Ndung’u said in Wajir town.
Julius Kienji, the Wajir South sub county livestock development officer said the pasture recovery was observed in Wajir East, Wajir North, and parts of Tarbaj after the rains.
He lamented that other regions such as Wajir West, Wajir South and Eldas subcounties received insufficient rainfall.
The improvement in livestock conditions, household milk production per day has slightly increased from two liters in April to 2.5 litres this month.
The increase in milk production and good prices is due to increased pasture which reduced trekking distance and improved livestock body weight.
Cattle prices improved from Sh15,000 in April to Sh15,500 in June, goat prices increased from Sh2,569 in April to Sh2,974 in June and camel prices increased from Sh24,750 in April to Sh35,000 in June.
The increase in prices is as a result of better weight and health and high market demand.