This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
Published on August 7, 2019, a report by the Kenya Markets Trust reveals that Kenya's livestock sector is facing significant challenges, including poor disease control, gross underfunding, and inadequate staff with requisite technical knowledge.
The report, titled 'The Political Economy Analysis of the Livestock Sector in Kenya,' notes that the sector has been neglected despite being the third-largest producer of livestock in Africa, after Ethiopia and Botswana.
Kenya's livestock sector is currently worth over Sh250 billion, with approximately 17.3 million cows, 2.9 million camels, 1.8 million donkeys, 28 million goats, 32 million indigenous chickens, 17 million sheep, 330,000 pigs, and 1.8 million beehives.
According to Livestock PS Harry Kimutai, the ministry acknowledges that livestock farmers are facing challenges ranging from low productivity, lack of a reliable market for their products, and high cost of production.
Kimutai stated, 'We are focusing on exploring means of reducing the cost of production. These include improving the quality of animal feeds, animal genetic improvement, and livestock disease control to boost access to the international markets.'
Head of programmes at KMT, Dr Rip Kirby, disclosed that weak coordination between the county and national governments has contributed to the loss of potential investors.
Further, the challenge of sustainable livestock production has hit harder counties in the arid and semi-arid areas.
Dr Kirby noted, 'If the sector does not address the confusion and ignorance within the supply chain, then Kenya will lose more investors and business partners.'
Trans Nzoia Agriculture executive Mary Nzomo added that the livestock sector has suffered historical injustice, with some drought-prone counties being neglected.
The report highlights that the sector contributes to 12 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 40 per cent to the agricultural GDP, employing about 10 million Kenyans throughout its supply chain.
