- Nyamira rolls out grants to support farmer organisations and value chains
- Livestock owners get subsidised protection against a major cattle disease
- Dairy and coffee farmers are targeted through the new initiatives
Nyamira County has launched a Ksh36.4 million farmer grants package alongside an FMD vaccination drive covering more than 113,800 cattle.
Governor Amos Nyaribo unveiled both initiatives during an event at Riokenye in Borabu Constituency, framing them as a combined push to safeguard livestock and shore up food security across the county.
Of the Ksh36.4 million disbursed to farmer organisations, the bulk, Ksh32.6 million, has been set aside as inclusion grants. The remaining Ksh3.8 million will fund 40 Farmer-Led Demonstration Farms, with a specific focus on the dairy and coffee value chains. Nyaribo described the funding as a deliberate investment in productivity, farmer incomes and resilience against climate-related shocks.
The vaccination campaign against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) will be delivered through an e-voucher system under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP). Cost-sharing arrangements will see farmers pay just Ksh50 per cow, while the county government covers the remaining Ksh110 per animal.
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Veterinary officers are expected to move from farm to farm over the next two months to complete the exercise. Nyaribo called on farmers to register their cattle promptly and to rally their neighbours to take part, arguing that wider participation would improve coverage and cut the risk of the disease spreading further.
FMD remains a persistent concern for the county’s livestock sector, and Nyaribo cast the vaccination drive as a pre-emptive step rather than a reaction to an active outbreak, given the disease’s potential to disrupt farmers’ livelihoods if left unchecked.
Taken together, the county government said the vaccination programme and the farmer grants are designed to reinforce each other, strengthening the dairy and coffee value chains while lifting incomes for farmers across Nyamira.
By Benedict Aoya
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