{"id":107630,"date":"2025-01-14T12:03:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T12:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/01\/14\/no-livestock-farmer-will-be-coerced-to-vaccinate-their-cattle-kagwe\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T12:03:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T12:03:51","slug":"no-livestock-farmer-will-be-coerced-to-vaccinate-their-cattle-kagwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/no-livestock-farmer-will-be-coerced-to-vaccinate-their-cattle-kagwe\/","title":{"rendered":"No livestock farmer will be coerced to vaccinate their cattle: Kagwe"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 \u2013 Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mutahi Kagwe has pledged to address misconceptions surrounding the government\u2019s flagship cattle vaccination project through effective communication to counter negative narratives and misinformation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appearing for vetting before the National Assembly Committee on Appointment, Kagwe promised to engage all stakeholders in the vaccination exercise, spearheaded by the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute, if approved<\/p>\n

Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the vaccines, with some livestock farmers expressing concerns though unsupported by evidence that the vaccination program could harm their herds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about social media and how it can propagate propaganda. The most important thing is to involve industry stakeholders, including MPs, and share accurate information,\u201d Kagwe stated.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has set an ambitious target to vaccinate 22 million cattle and 50 million sheep and goats.<\/p>\n

Kagwe clarified to the House committee that no livestock farmer would be coerced into vaccinating their animals, explaining that participation would be voluntary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cow belongs to an individual, not the government. It\u2019s simple: here is a vaccine for foot and mouth disease. Do you want your goat vaccinated? If yes, we will vaccinate it. If not, that\u2019s fine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He stated that effective communication will fast track progress on the \u00a0cattle vaccination which aims to deal with\u00a0anthrax, foot and mouth disease, rift valley fever, African swine fever and rinderpest diseases that affect livestock in Kenya.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no farmer who is going to refuse to protect his herd is alternative is if the herd is going to die. What has been missing is communication of what\u2019s at stake if they are not vaccinated and that choices have consequences,\u201d<\/p>\n

The Agriculture nominee promised to establish a robust communication system led by experts to strengthen the fight against livestock diseases and prepare cattle for foreign markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will work with experts at the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute, much like we did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide clear explanations alongside veterinary officers,\u201d Kagwe explained.<\/p>\n

The Ministry has assured livestock owners that the vaccines are safe and locally produced. President William Ruto has criticized opponents of the vaccination program, arguing that they are hindering livestock owners from accessing international markets.<\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization, animal vaccination is essential for preventing and controlling the spread of these diseases.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Agriculture reports that only 10% of animals have been vaccinated so far. It emphasizes that the vaccination rate needs to increase to 85% to make livestock products eligible for export.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 \u2013 Agriculture Cabinet Secretary nominee Mutahi Kagwe has pledged to address misconceptions surrounding the government\u2019s flagship cattle vaccination project through effective communication to counter negative narratives and misinformation. Appearing for vetting before the National Assembly Committee on Appointment, Kagwe promised to engage all stakeholders in the vaccination exercise, spearheaded by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}