‘Vaccination drive target farmers who cannot afford service’ – CS Duale
By Kiplagat Sang, December 31, 2024
Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has defended President William Ruto’s push to have farmers vaccinate their livestock.
The president has faced backlash as he tries to convince farmers to accept the vaccination drive, and now Duale has explained why there is a need to have a successful vaccine campaign.
“The government has initiated comprehensive reforms across all agricultural sectors, including tea, coffee, sugar, and livestock, to boost their contribution to the national GDP and position Kenya as a competitive player in global markets.
“In the livestock sector, we are focusing on enhancing the entire value chain to attract external markets for meat and related products.
“To achieve this, the Ministry is rolling out a mass vaccination campaign aimed at eradicating critical livestock diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR).
“Additionally, farmers in need of support will benefit from government subsidies to reduce the cost of vaccines. These efforts, targeting majorly farmers who could not previously afford to vaccinate their livestock, align with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and are aimed at achieving wholesome national economic growth that touches all sectors and indiscriminately impacts the lives of all Kenyans,” Duale said in a statement on X on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
Criticism
Recently, Ruto hit back at the vaccination drive critics and particularly said leaders who do not understand its importance should keep off.
“Leaders who have no understanding of the livestock sector and agriculture should spare us their ignorance. You can’t use disinformation and fake news to deny Kenyans international markets by discouraging vaccination of their animals.
“If it’s not dangerous to vaccinate humans, how can it be dangerous to vaccinate animals? Please give us a break,” Ruto stated.
The vaccination drive is one of the many Kenya Kwanza policies that has faced fierce public opposition.