Ntima West, North Imenti: County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Mrs. Caroline Kagwiria Mutiga has today presided over a poultry farmers' empowerment drive at Kirugua Assistant Chief's ground, Kianjuri, Ntima West in North Imenti. The event was organized by Department of Livestock and area MCA Hon. Paul Bagine through the Ward Allocation Fund. The program involves training of farmers on best practices in poultry farming and were each given 20 improved Kienyeji chicks which are already 1½ months old. The Chicks have been bred at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Naivasha.

Mrs. Carol Mutiga said that Governor Kiraitu Murungi is fully committed to ensure Meru farmers engage in financially profitable ventures in agriculture such as indigenous(Kienyeji) chicken raring, adding that the County Government is also implementing another similar project that has already been funded through partnership with the Government of South Korea, and will be rolled out in the coming months. Mrs. Mutiga also noted that another empowerment program for farmers in various value chains, is ongoing in the County funded in partnership with the World Bank, through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP), which will be officially launched by the Governor next month.

"We thank our Governor Kiraitu Murungi, his Government and our MCA for this project, from which we hope to reap massively to empower us as farmers, financially," said Mr. Joseph Kirimi, one of the Ntima West residents who received the chicks.


MCA Paul Bagine praised the Governor’s Ward Fund initiative saying that it is radically transforming lives of residents at the grassroots. Peter Alaru from KALRO said that the institute will work with the County Government to deploy specialist personnel to provide guidance to farmers on best methods of raring the poultry for maximum benefits. Mr. Alaru revealed that each of chicken given to the farmers produces between 220 and 250 Kienyeji eggs per year, and for meat, they attain up to 2kgs in just four and a half months.
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