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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: Kenya Chinese Grass
HEADLINE: Kenyan Farmers Embrace Chinese Engineered Grass for Fodder
TEASER: Kenyan farmers are embracing a grass that is purportedly high-yielding and fast-maturing to address shortage of livestock feed, but some scientists advise caution
PUBLISHED: 02/09/2024 at 10:30am
BYLINE: Francis Ontomwa
DATELINE: Nairobi, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangwa
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Mia Bush, sb
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 4:15
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO:))
[[A meeting among six African Union member states to discuss Africa’s feed and fodder crisis in underway in Nairobi, Kenya. Having enough feed for livestock is critical to the food security of many countries on the continent. Some farmers are considering adopting a Chinese-engineered grass called Juncao, advertised as high-yielding and fast-maturing. Francis Ontomwa has more from Kajiado, Kenya.]]
((NARRATOR))
In the heart of Kitengela [pron: KIH-tehn-gah-lah]] town, 25 kilometers south of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, this vegetation dotting the landscape first appeared four years ago. It’s a grass developed by the Chinese, called Juncao. [[pron: Juhn-kah-oh]] Chinese state media describes it as “magic grass”. Chinese entrepreneur Jack Liu ((pron: L-yoo]] grows Juncao grass in Kenya and sells it to farmers here.
((Jack Liu, Agriprenuer))
“Juncao grass is tall and erect. It’s a hybrid from 38 kinds of varieties of grasses.”
((NARRATOR))
Liu says Juncao can survive even in the harshest of climate conditions, provided it has irrigation.
Dairy farmer Stephen Mwangi ((pron: em-wahn-gee)) started feeding it to his cows a year ago.
((Stephen Mwangi, Farmer))
“They are growing now. They are doing very fast, growing very fast. They are putting weight, like a kilo a day when you start feeding them.”
((NARRATOR))
Mwangi says Juncao provides more nutrients for his cattle. He noticed dairy production has also increased. When compared to other types of fodder he’s used in the past, he says Juncao has a greater yield than Napier grass, a common fodder. He harvests the grass at least five times a year.
Kenya can only produce 40% of its fodder needs, the government estimates. Six African Union countries met in February to discuss fodder supply challenges.
Pockets of farmers in Kenya are looking to Juncao as a solution. Liu sells silage, or fermented grass, at $7 a bag. He also sells stems at 12 cents each for planting. Farmers say Juncao is cheaper than the alternative, Napier grass.
((Jack Liu, Agriprenuer))
“Juncao grass can be used for cattle, sheep and goat, poultries, even fish. Particularly Juncao grass, because of its high protein, [can be] used for dairy farming. It helps increasing milking about 30 up to 50%, reducing the fodder cost [by] over 50%.”
((NARRATOR))
In 2021, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, a regulatory body, allowed Liu’s company to add more fields and expand to grow Juncao grass after ruling out the risks of pests and invasive species.
But some scientists are urging caution and say solving one challenge could lead to another problem.
Ornithologist John Musina [[pron: moo-see-nah]] worries cultivating Juncao would interfere with biodiversity.
((John Musina, National Museums of Kenya))
“Half of our bird species in Kenya occur in the rangelands. Now, if you convert large chunks of these rangelands into Juncao grass fields, even if they are small holdings, that multiplies and changes the landscape of our rangelands, then immediately what you’ve done is that you have reduced the habitat available for the native species of plants and animals and this loss of habitat coupled with degradation of these habitats means that there is biodiversity loss."
((NARRATOR))
A solution is to not depend on just one kind of grass, says botanist Joyce Jefwa. [pron: jehf-wah]
((Courtesy: Joyce Jefwa))
((Joyce Jefwa, Pwani University))
“We might have to look how we can integrate our natural indigenous grass like buffel grass -- is also good for livestock, so if you have barns of Juncao grass intercropped with indigenous grass, that might reduce the risks of losing the rangelands biodiversity or even the farmland biodiversity”
((end courtesy))
((NARRATOR))
With climate change and drought ravaging parts of the country, some Kenya farmers like Mwangi are embracing Juncao as a lifeline for their livestock.
((Francis Ontomwa, VOA News, Kajiado, Kenya.))
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