Kenya: Israeli bull semen 'free' for livestock farmers
A county in south-west Kenya is planning mass imports of bull semen in an effort to turn the region into a major livestock producer and give a boost to local farmers, it's reported.
More than 100m shillings ($1,158m; £698,000) of semen from "top bulls" in Israel will be cross-bred with local varieties and distributed to farmers for free, under the programme to increase milk and meat production, the Daily Nation newspaper reports.
"We are trying to introduce farmers to a breed that will give them higher returns and encourage them to practice dairy farming as a profitable business," says Narok County Governor Samuel Ole Tunai. "We must improve the breeds we have," he argues, adding livestock farming could become the "main economic mover" in the area.
According to Daily Nation, 50 Brazilian companies have expressed an interest to invest in animal farming in the Kenyan county. Among them were investors who wanted to build an abattoir and a meat processing plant.
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