Kajiado County Assembly Speaker Justus Ngussur has urged Kajiado pastoralists to allow their livestock to be vaccinated by the government in the planned mass vaccination exercise.
The speaker said that the planned mass livestock vaccination by the government is an authentic exercise which is for the benefit of the farmers.
He urged wananchi to disregard propaganda being peddled by detractors saying that the vaccines are safe.
“No one is being forced to vaccinate their livestock but I urge everyone to avail their cows, sheep and goats for vaccination. The vaccine is safe as it has been produced locally by the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVAPI) and not from abroad as some people are alleging,” said Ngussur.
He noted that the pastoralists have been vaccinating their livestock against diseases from time immemorial and even the county government of Kajiado vaccinated livestock for free across the county last year thus there is no need to fear as there is no ulterior motive.
He added that the free mass vaccination exercise is a bonus by the government to pastoralists just like how coffee and tea farmers in the country are given bonuses by the government.
On their part, Kajiado farmers are calling for clarity regarding the vaccines and are urging the government to carry out civic education before they embark on the planned mass vaccination.
“Our cows are our source of livelihood, they provide us with beef, milk, hides and manure. We won’t allow them to be vaccinated before being properly informed because as per now, no civic education has been done on the same,” said Daniel Kanchori, a livestock farmer in Kitengela.
Another pastoralist, Peninah Nasieku noted that the government usually conducts civic education before undertaking mass vaccination for livestock and people but it is not the case this time.
“We are cautious about the vaccinations because we see cancer cases rising daily. When our cows are vaccinated, we are usually informed how many days we should not consume their milk and beef. For now, we are only being told that the livestock will be vaccinated with no detailed information on ‘against what and why’. Let the government provide detailed information first before they vaccinate,” said Peninah.
The government plans to vaccinate 22 million cattle against foot and mouth disease and 50 million goats and sheep against Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR).
The vaccination campaign which aims at curbing animal losses related to disease will be spearheaded by KEVEVAPI through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Production at an initial cost of Sh193 million.
By Diana Meneto