This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
Kenya: Herders Struggle Amid COVID-19 Lockdown ¶
Published on June 27, 2020
Kenya's herders are facing a tough time as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, disrupting markets and movement restrictions. Peter Olankai, a 46-year-old cattle, sheep, and goat keeper from Kisamis village in remote Maasai territory, has struggled to buy and sell his animals.
"Our livelihood is reliant on livestock - we sell these animals to get money to buy food and other family needs, but now we can't," Olankai said earlier this month.
Olankai's community was hit hard by drought in 2018 and 2019, but this year, they have had a lot of rain and the livestock are healthy and in good condition. However, the pandemic has ruined his plan to fetch a decent price for his animals.
"Sometimes when I need money, I call one of the livestock buyers but it's hard for them to come because of movement restrictions," he said.
James Mburu, a trader from Kiserian, 27 km southwest of Nairobi, has also been affected by the pandemic. He buys goats from the Maasai community to sell in the capital but has lost about 300,000 shillings ($2,800) since the market closed.
"Getting goats for slaughter is very expensive," Mburu said.
The pandemic has disrupted the livestock marketing system in the area, with many brokers halting their activities. Traders like Mburu have had to go into Maasai country to collect livestock from individual keepers.
Leonard Leakey Ritei, Kajiado County Chief Agriculture Officer, said the livestock sector supports more than 300,000 households in his county, with animals kept to pay for essentials rather than making a profit.
"Our county is predominantly a livestock area and big fractions of the population are dependent on livestock trading. For people to get food and meet other family needs, they have to sell these animals," he said.
The government is planning a phased reopening of major livestock markets from Monday, after ensuring they can comply with coronavirus prevention protocols.
