Marsabit herders troop to Mwea to buy hay for their drought-hit livestock

Herders from Marsabit are trooping to the Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kirinyaga County in search of rice straw hay to feed their starving animals.

The herders are scrambling for the fodder to save the remaining animals, which have been hit hard by severe drought 

The pastoralists are travelling to Kirinyaga more often to purchase the hay, which they ferry back home on hired lorries to feed their emaciated animals.

They said the situation has got out of hand. Most pastoralists visit the area four times a week to collect the feed and water for domestic use.

And due to high prices of hay, the pastoralists form groups and contribute money to buy ‘as much hay as possible’.

They also hire lorries jointly as transport costs have soared due to rising prices of petrol and diesel.

Herders who are financially constrained are helped to get the feed by their richer relatives and close friends.

Wiped out

Guyo Duba said most of his livestock and those of his brother had been wiped out by drought.

“Our animals are perishing daily because they have nothing to eat and we have been coming to Mwea in search of hay to feed them," said Mr Duba in Ngurubani.

The herders said they depended on animals for survival and they fought hard to save them.

Mr Duba said due to high demand, prices of hay had gone up.
"We are buying one bale of hay for Sh220, up from Sh120," said Mr Duba.

The herders lamented that rice farmers were taking advantage of the crisis to exploit them.

He appealed to the government to step in and help herders by providing animal feed to them.

Marsabit County has not received rain for over three years and over one million livestock have been lost to drought, exposing pastoralist communities to food insecurity.

The situation has been exacerbated by inter-tribal conflicts since 2019 and humanitarian agencies have warned of a looming crisis if there is no immediate intervention.

The drought is likely to worsen because no rains are expected any time soon, said Mike Kendagor, project coordinator for Canadian-based Church World Service (CWS).

“Efforts to address the situation should urgently be taken, with long-term interventions required to eliminate the threat of starvation and prevent famine, including ways to strengthen education, nutrition and social protection,” Mr Kendagor said.

He spoke last week during food distribution to more than 4,000 households in Laisamis sub-county. He expressed concern the crisis was in the emergency category with the likelihood of escalating into the catastrophic phase as the dry spell continues.

Mr Kendagor also noted that the drought posed the greatest threat to the education sector and health, with children under five years old the hardest hit. Some learners have dropped out to move to far-flung areas in search of pasture alongside their parents. Others were also too weak to walk to school due to starvation, he said.