Chinese grass helps address fodder shortage in Kenya

One afternoon late last year, Paul Busienei, a principal at Tenges Boys High School in Kenya's Baringo County, watched news via a local television about a Chinese wonder grass touted as the solution to the animal fodder shortage in the country and the answer to improved milk production for dairy farmers.

Despite the fact that Busienei is also a dairy farmer and clearly understood the fodder shortage facing farmers like him, he didn't pay much attention to the news, treating like another interesting story. He brushed it off.

It was not until March, when a conversation with his friend revived the news, where he became convinced about the high nutritional value of the wonder grass. This saw him make a 119 kilometer-journey from Nandi to Crevation International Limited, a Nakuru based Chinese company that is growing the Juncao grass in a 20-hectare land.

"When I visited my friend's farm, he told me unlike the ordinary Napier grass, Juncao doesn't need additional nutrients. He told me his milk production had increased from 25 liters for high yielders to 40 liters and from 15 liters to 25 liters for low yielders per day," Busienei said.

After visiting Juncao farm, he bought 500 stem pieces to plant for propagation. His plan is to have 1.6 hectares of his land under the grass in the near future.

"From what I saw in my friend's farm, this grass is a game changer. I thank the Chinese for the technology that is set to address both fodder shortage and milk production among dairy farmers in Kenya," he said.