From hard-nosed pastoralist to one of the biggest poultry keepers in the North

John Godana collects eggs from his poultry house in Butiye Village, Moyale. He collects up to 27 crates of eggs each day, which he sells at Sh350 each. PHOTO | IRENE MWENDWA | NMG

What you need to know:

  • The community values cattle to the extent that one can kill if the animals are threatened, the reason why conflicts arise over grazing lands and water.
  • Today, Godana keeps some 900 layers, and he is one of the big suppliers of eggs in Moyale.
  • The farmer says keeping poultry has enabled him live in peace.
  • When he started, he had difficulties getting clean water but he has bought two 10,000 litres tanks.

Moyale in Marsabit County is mainly known for pastoralism, but this may not be the case in the near future as a farmer is keen to change the tide by keeping poultry for commercial purposes.

John Godana’s home in Butiye is home to tens of layers, with the farmer having transformed from a herder to a poultry keeper.

It all started in 2009 when Godana lost all his cattle to famine. Devastated and unable to provide for his family, he knew he had to look for a solution – chickens offered it, 

But that was not easy, since the community values cattle to the extent that one can kill if the animals are threatened, the reason why conflicts arise over grazing lands and water.

Godana, who had worked as an agricultural officer with the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) before he retired, invested Sh150,000 in the poultry project, money that went into building chicken houses and buying his first stock of 200 day-old chicks from Kenchic.

Today, Godana keeps some 900 layers, and he is one of the big suppliers of eggs in Moyale.

“I follow the vaccination schedule strictly but the challenge is I get the vaccines from Kabete in Nairobi because there are not available in Moyale,” he says.

Godana collects up to 27 crates of eggs each day, which he sells at Sh350 each.

“I sell mainly to hotels, bakeries and wholesale shops and demand is high because few people keep chickens in the town,” says Godana, 70, who last week built a poultry house to host another set of 800 birds.

TRANSIT FROM PASTORALISM

The farmer says keeping poultry has enabled him live in peace.

“When you keep livestock, you do not even live in peace since you are always looking over your shoulder afraid of not only the natural disasters like drought but also raiders,” he says, adding members of the community are always fighting for water, pasture and grazing space.

A year ago, Godana participated in the USAID funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth (REGAL-AG) contest and won. He was rewarded with a cage system, which he now uses to keep his chickens.

When he started, he had difficulties getting clean water but he has bought two 10,000 litres tanks.

The farmer has become a model of how residents can transit from pastoralism.

"Several organisations seeking to help the community move to other income generating activities apart from pastoralism visit my farm and educate people on the subject.”

Bolicha Kabula, a veterinary officer in Moyale, says poultry keepers in the area should be wary of diseases spread when chickens are transported from the neighbouring Ethiopia.

“We advise the farmers to ensure they vaccinate their birds as required and follow all the rules when it comes to dealing with diseases,” says Kabula, noting locals are not used to chicken meat, which presents challenges to farmers when they want to sell their birds for meat.