Livestock farmers in Nakuru County have been urged to reduce the number of animals they rear in order to provide better management and increased productivity.
Speaking to a group of farmers during an extension programme exercise at Muigitu town, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Agriclulture, Egerton University Alfred Bebe advised farmers to go for quality and not quantity.
The agriculture expert based at the Animal Sciences department observed that farmers risked getting losses if they could not cut down on the number of animals they reared for easier management.
“If you cannot afford to rare many animals that you can afford to feed, accommodate and treat, then you are risking losses. Diseases can wipe out your stock and inefficient feeding can hamper productivity,” said Bebe.
He further added that small-scale farmers should rear manageable livestock according to the available resources in space and time to avoid losses while increasing productivity.
Bebe advised the area farmers to take advantage of their proximity to the university to consult agricultural experts at the university on a variety of agricultural ventures.
“We can help with adivicing them on different aspects of agriculture. It is important that we try and produce quality rather than quantity which is not productive at the end of the day,” added Bebe.