A livestock bill has proposed the formation of a marketing board meant to market Kenya’s livestock products across the world.
The livestock bill was proposed in parliament on the 10th of December 2019, in a bid to ensure that animal products from Kenya are competitive on a global scale.
According to Livestock Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai, the Livestock Products Marketing Board will be expected to collaborate with other relevant agencies to promote the trade of livestock and livestock products including trade agreements, marketing organizations, and co-operatives.
This comes during a time where livestock farmers have been frustrated time after time due to the lack of markets in and out of Kenya.
Additionally, Kenyan livestock products such as milk have been unable to compete with milk from its East African peers such as Uganda, leaving milk farmers frustrated.
Most recently, in a bid to protect the farmer from competition from Uganda, Kenyan Authorities decided to impose a 16 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on all milk products coming from Uganda.
The Livestock Products Marketing Board if formed will be in charge of advising the national and county governments on matters relating to the marketing of livestock and livestock products.
The Board will also facilitate the marketing of livestock and livestock products through the provision of market information intelligence on supply and demand locally and internationally.
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