- Agriculture PS Jonathan Mueke confirmed the government is eyeing the Murrah breed, a domesticated water buffalo from India, not the wild buffalo found in national parks
- The clarification followed a wave of misinformation after President Ruto mentioned buffalo as a potential solution to Kenya's milk shortage at a Nairobi summit
- Kenya has already completed import standards and placed orders with nearly 800 Indian farmers, with a government-to-government deal still to be finalised
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
Agriculture and Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke has moved to correct a widespread misunderstanding that followed President William Ruto's remarks about introducing buffalo into Kenya's dairy sector.
Source: Getty Images
Speaking on Citizen TV, Mueke clarified that the animal under consideration is a farm-reared water buffalo from India, distinct from the wild buffalo native to Kenya's national parks.
"We are not going for the wild buffalo that are out in the national park. This is a domesticated buffalo formerly known as a water buffalo, and the specific breed we are looking at from India is the Murrah breed," he said.
The confusion started after Ruto, while addressing the Agriculture and Food Security Summit at Jamhuri Park, Nairobi, on Friday, October 9, 2026, proposed buffalo as one way to ease the country's ongoing milk shortage.
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner ;)
His remarks were widely misinterpreted as a call to farm wild animals.
Water Buffalo Already Gazetted as a Food Animal
The domesticated water buffalo already has a legal footing in Kenya.
Through Gazette Notice No. 977, dated January 31, 2025, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe declared the domesticated water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) a food animal under section 2 of the Meat Control Act (Cap. 356).
The Gazette Notice refers to the species broadly and does not specify any particular breed.
Mueke described the Murrah's milk as the centrepiece of the government's interest in the animal.
"This buffalo produces very high-quality and nutritious milk with a very high fat content. With this high-quality milk, you are able to make very high-value dairy products such as butter, cheese, yoghurt, and ghee," he said.
Beyond milk, the PS said the animal also offers meat and leather.
"The meat might be a little tougher than our normal beef here in Kenya, but it is very lean, so it has very little fat, and it is very good for people who do not want to consume a lot of cholesterol. The third advantage of this buffalo is that it is a little bigger than our average cow, which means that it is good for leather; its hide is much bigger and tougher than our normal cow's hide," he said.
On safety concerns, Mueke said Kenyan officials had already travelled to India to inspect the animals before deciding to proceed.
"We did visit India and saw these buffaloes. They are just put in the house on your farm, just like cows, goats or sheep. They are not harmful at all. We said, as Kenyans, maybe we should try those here. We gazetted the water buffalo as a food item so that we can be able to consume its milk and meat. That was done as per a lot of research and a lot of collaboration between our veterinary officers and the veterinary officers in India, who determined that this is safe for human consumption," he said.
Kenya Orders Animals From Nearly 800 Indian Farmers
The PS confirmed the importation process is at an advanced stage.
"We have been working on the process, which is called the standards for importing food items from another country into Kenya. That has been cleared. All that remains is for us to go and purchase those buffaloes we have ordered from almost 800 farmers. We want those buffaloes here in Kenya so that the government can facilitate a government-to-government arrangement with the government of India to bring those buffaloes to Kenya for the production of meat, milk and leather," he said.
Mueke added that the government will take a cautious, phased approach before opening imports to private farmers.
"These buffaloes are a little harder than your normal dairy cow. They will be able to survive in harsh conditions. Its feed conversion is a little better than a normal dairy cow; it eats little and produces a lot of milk. For research purposes, we will import as government first for our government farms, especially our genetics organization, so that we can understand the animal husbandry around it and its feeding patterns before we import it for private farmers," he said.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Authors:
Tags:
Hot: