Nairobi — The African Development Bank has set aside Sh705 million to help Kenya among other countries on the continent eradicate the tsetse fly menace, a PS has said.

Consequently, the government will launch a campaign to wipe out the fly that transmits trypanosomiasis disease in an effort to boost livestock production and increase milk and beef output.

Livestock permanent secretary Kenneth Lusaka, said Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali and Burkina Faso will also benefit from the funding.

Wipe out

He said Teso District among others will soon be able to raise dairy cattle after the Ministry of Livestock launches a programme of laying chemical impregnated targets to kill tsetse flies in western Kenya.

Speaking to the Daily Nation, Mr Lusaka said the government is collaborating with Kenya Veterinary Association and Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign in the initiative.

"If Kenya succeeds, it will be the third country in sub-Saharan Africa after Botswana and Namibia to have resolved the problem which has hampered livestock production in the region for years," he said on Tuesday.

Mr Lusaka said tsetse flies persistence in Kenya makes livestock production a very expensive enterprise perpetuating poverty in marginal areas which cannot sustain crop production.

He said Botswana is the leading exporter of beef to Europe while Kenya is yet to utilise its quota because of a ban imposed on the country's meat due to prevalence of livestock diseases the past.

Control measures

Mr Lusaka said Kenya's past efforts to combat tsetse flies were hampered by re-infestation when control measures broke down due to budgetary constraints and un-coordinated efforts among others.

He said the country has discussed the issue with Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia who through their respective ministries in charge of livestock development have agreed to address trans-boundary problem jointly.

He said integrated environmentally friendly techniques involving livestock sprays, impregnated targets, ground spraying, habitat manipulation and drug treatments will be applied.