The National Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has initiated an ambitious programme of introducing feedlots in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in a bid to promote growth of livestock fodder in those areas which will in turn spur livestock productivity.

Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Livestock Development, Mr. Jonathan Mwangangi Mueke said the programme is a direct mitigation response to the effects of climate change and will be implemented in 23 counties. This will be done through partnership with county governments and other partners under Public/Private Partnership (PPP).

‘We want to establish 450 feed lots in 23 ASAL counties covering 5,000 acres. The purpose of that is to off-take livestock from the pastoralists, bring them to the feed lots, fatten and treat them for three months, and then sell,’ Mueke revealed.

Feedlots are units where animals will be confined, like in zero-grazing units for dairy production, and are trough-fed to finish o
r fatten cattle. So far, the feed lots have been established in four counties Baringo, Meru, Kitui and Wajir.

’80 per cent of Kenya`s land mass is Arid and Semi-arid land (ASAL) where livestock production is the main economic activity and source of livelihood for the communities, hence need to revamp this sector in order to grow the economy of this massive part of the country,’ Mueke said.

In addition, he noted the ASALs account for over 70 per cent of the country’s livestock production for meat. This livestock mostly graze on natural pasture and thus, the meat is organically produced but due to lack of information on production, this meat and other products tend to be of low quality which sometimes does not meet the requirement of the international market.

The remarks were contained in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Director in charge of Livestock Marketing at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development; Dr. Richard Kyuma during the official opening of technical planning and implementatio
n stakeholders` engagement workshop in Naivasha.

The workshop is organized by the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) through African Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Project and funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. APMD Platform was launched in the country to address challenges in Africa’s pastoral markets. It brings together key stakeholders from government, development partners, regional economic communities, the private sector, and pastoral communities involved in pastoral development across Africa.

Through this workshop, the APMD project, will seek to address the challenges facing pastoralist communities while unlocking the vast potential of pastoral markets on the continent. The four day workshop will also assess the policy environment, data ecosystems, and pastoralist integration in livestock markets for pastoral livestock marketing.

Pastoral communities are central to Africa’s economic and social landscape, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where livestock provid
es livelihoods for millions. Despite their critical role, pastoralism faces persistent challenges, such as limited market access, climate change, and policy gaps, which have hindered its full potential.

The APMD Platform is therefore designed to provide practical solutions to these challenges. The platform’s three key pillars which include; policy development, data ecosystems, and private-sector integration, all expected to drive sustainable growth and transformation in pastoral markets.

The APMD Platform is thus poised to be a catalyst for change in Africa’s livestock sector, offering new pathways to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and food security.

Kenya is one of the identified ‘lighthouse’ countries for the APMD project, the lessons learned here are expected to guide other African nations seeking to enhance their pastoral markets.

Mueke stated that currently, our livestock export traders are small-scale, each exporting small volumes, and as such, they cannot negotiate reasonable prices and get
into secure payment systems, making them liable to fraud.

‘To address these, the country must encourage small exporters to form a strong export companies/cooperatives to improve economies of scale. Under economies of scale, the groups can arrange for cargo freight space in a manner that avoid delays,’

The PS also noted that the pastoral production system faces a host of challenges including frequent droughts and presence of market sensitive diseases. This has resulted to inconsistence supply of quality and quantity of slaughter stock produced by pastoralists; hence denying them access to lucrative market contracts.

Some challenges faced by enterprises and exporters include: limited market access, inadequate trade regulations, inappropriate tariffs, and weak supply chain logistics. It’s worth noting that farmers in the Asals lost more than 2.5 million heads of cattle during the previous drought prompting a strategy to cushion livestock farmers. The availability of feed will help cushion livestock in the eve
nts of prolonged drought and other challenges.

Pastoral communities are central to Africa’s economic and social landscape, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where livestock provides livelihoods for millions. Despite their critical role, pastoralism faces persistent challenges, such as limited market access, climate change, and policy gaps, which have hindered its full potential.

Consequently, Mueke said the APMD Platform will be able to provide practical solutions to these challenges. The platform’s three key pillars; policy development, data ecosystems, and private-sector integration are expected to drive sustainable growth and transformation in pastoral markets.

Dr. Kyuma on his part said Kenya is far from meeting her potential in livestock production and marketing and that is why more needs to be done to grow this sector.

He noted that the Asals have been losing billions of shillings through inefficient production systems and that is why the APMD project seeks to provide feeds and market capacit
ies to the farmers.

‘We will construct Water pans and dams to help in growing these pastoral feedlots and developing other facilities they require to grow the sector such as Insurance product to cushion farmers during drought and other calamities,’ he said.

Africa Pastoral Markets Development Platform (APMDP) coordinator, Prof. Ahmed El Beltagy said the project will provide improved market access through improved production, food security and inclusivity and promote compliance to international market demands.

The head of Animal Feeds and Nutrition Services at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Dr. Stanley Mutua said policy formulation is key in integrating pastoralism into the markets, where policy formulation involves setting standards, regulations, strategies and guidelines for the sector.

Assistant Director at the State Department of Livestock Development in charge of marketing Dr. Harrison Mugo on his part said lack of policy, awareness and sensitization on cross border livestock t
rade had made the sector lag behind in international trade.

He said availability of the information has been disjointed but through his project, it’s going to be made a one stop shop, employing best practices to produce quality livestock for the market.

As of 2017 data, the country’s animal population comprised 44.6 million poultry, 18.8 million cattle, 26.7 million goats, 18.9 million sheep, 3.2 million camels, 1.9 million donkeys, and 0.5 million pig, which contributed 4,4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) same year.

According to FAO, Kenya’s beef production stands at 588,000 metric tonnes and cow milk production at 4.1 billion litres per year, and the demand for livestock products is projected to increase exponentially driven by population growth by the year 2050.

The study titled Future of Livestock in Kenya 2019 shows that by the year 2050, meat and cow milk consumption will increase by 1.4 and 6.6 million metric tonnes annually respectively.

Source: Kenya News Agency