The arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya are home to about 70% of the country’s livestock.

The Kenya Kwanza government together with the Ministry of Agriculture realizes the need to improve and revive the livestock sector for the benefit of not just the country’s economic growth but also the improvement of the lives of the livestock owners.

PS Jonathan Mueke attended the attended the African Pastoral Market Transformation convening event at the Strathmore Agri-food Innovation Centre.

The event was aimed at informing the design of interventions for transforming pastoral markets and enhancing the livelihoods of pastoral communities.

In alignment with this agenda, the State Department of Livestock is committed to improving the resilience of communities living in the Arid and Semi-Arid lands of Kenya, which comprise 70% of our livestock population.

This objective can be achieved through the implementation of Livestock Insurance Programs, fostering Public-Private Partnerships to support the Livestock sector, and promoting livestock feeds production and infrastructure development.  

The Livestock industry is a primary source of livelihood for 6 million pastoralists and is a key driver of Kenya’s economy. Focusing our energies into this sector will create more job opportunities and boost incomes for livestock farmers.

PS Mueke has also stated that in order to quickly develop our leather, dairy and meat value chains and create much needed jobs, it is important that we partner with the private sector.

The Kenya Kwanza BETA Plan seeks to improve all sub-sectors of the Agricultural sector.