Sh1 billion compensation: What it means to livestock farmers

The road from Nanyuki to Kimanjo in Laikipia County presents a rare scenery of abundant pasture, a huge contrast from the parched land littered with livestock carcasses in 2022.

At the junction to Oldonyiro market, stands a store filled with about 7,000 bales of hay that has been lying idle for months with the locals showing little interest in the bumper grass harvest.

“We have enough pasture, thanks to the heavy rains witnessed for over a year now. Unfortunately, our livestock was wiped out by the 2021/2022 drought and the grass may not offer much relief for now,” Mzee Stephen Lemoke explains the predicament facing the pastoralists in the semi-arid Laikipia North Sub-county.

The 74-year-old man says he struggled to save his four cows in June 2022 by feeding them with burnt cactus but three died before he sold the last emaciated one for Sh15,000 in the government’s livestock off-take programme.

Today, he has no cows, just about 15 goats that provide his wife and five grandchildren in the village of Musul with milk, an important part of their diet.

A similar story of parents struggling to feed their families is narrated by other residents across Mukogodo West and Mukogodo East wards whose main economic lifeline is keeping livestock.

In the Northern Kenya region, which relies heavily on livestock farming, droughts are so devastating that pastoralists lose entire herds.

In 2015, a livestock census indicated that Marsabit County had 424,603 cattle, 1,143,480 goats, 960,004 sheep, 203,320 camels, 63,861 donkeys and 50,690 chickens. Over 224,000 animals died during the 2021-2022 drought, according to a March 2022 Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation survey.

Somo Wario from Kachacha village in Sagante Jaldesa Ward lost all his 100 camels and over 200 goats to the ravaging drought.

Mr Wario who has now turned into a crop farmer said there was an urgent need for livestock farmers to adopt innovative animal husbandry that emphasised quality over quantity of animals reared.

Asked whether he would want to go back to livestock rearing, he said that if given a second chance he would keep livestock but not go the traditional way where owning large herds was perceived as being wealthy and respectable in the society.

He appealed to the government to help farmers who lost their animals restock their herds but instead called for adopting new methodologies such as feedlot systems, for sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.

Semi-arid counties

While speaking in Laikipia County recently, President William Ruto said the government had set aside Sh1 billion for a livestock programme to be implemented in 16 semi-arid counties that were hard hit by the recent drought.

“Early next year, we shall compensate livestock farmers with Sh1 billion for restocking that will target 16 counties, Laikipia included. Local leaders will assist in identifying the needy families to benefit from this programme,” the head of State said.

The announcement has caused excitement among livestock farmers who are hopeful that the programme will be implemented soon before the abundant pasture, both in the communally owned lands and the hay stores goes to waste.

Mr Ole Kasana, a former civic leader in Laikipia noted that desperation arising from losing the livestock to drought has forced many men, both young and elderly to seek employment as night guards in urban centres with others being hired as herders in cattle neighbouring cattle ranches.

“The Sh1 billion if well utilised will go a long way in restoring our dignity. I had 86 head of cattle before the drought but as we speak, I only have one cow but the majority of my neighbours only have a few goats or sheep donated to them by relatives,” he said.

“We welcome the government’s timely initiative, coming at a time when we were worried the harvested pasture might go to waste since we do not have cattle to feed on it.  The sooner this is done, the better,” community leader Eric Ole Kasana told Nation.

Mr Ole Kasana, the former Il Digir councillor noted that the community had learnt a big lesson from the drought and was now ready to embrace feedlots as a way of livestock rearing to minimize the traditional migration patterns which result in cattle succumbing to adverse weather conditions in Mt Kenya and Aberdare forests.

The feedlot livestock model is where pastoralists are encouraged to grow pasture on their farms and harvest it for storage to be utilised in times of pasture scarcity.

In a feedlot program, intensive livestock management is undertaken primarily by feeding livestock a mixture of grains, silage, hay and protein until they are ready for the market. The process focuses on the efficient growth and weight gain of the livestock.

The hay store in Mukgodo Ward was constructed through support from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and since then the neighbouring community have been planting fast-maturing grass after reclaiming land colonized by an invasive cactus species.

 President Ruto said feedlot was one way of adapting to challenges brought about by climate change.

“To reduce animal losses due to climate change, we have identified 450 feed lots facilities across the country. This arrangement will assist farmers to sell their livestock at good prices during offtake programmes,” said Dr Ruto.

Reeling from the adverse effects of climate change, livestock farmers and leaders in the semi-arid region of Laikipia County also welcomed the government’s initiative to promote the modern model of livestock farming and discard traditional norms.

Climate change

“I lost 40 head of cattle in early 2022 when I drove them to Mt Kenya forest in search of pasture,” recalls Mr Karisek Ngilisho from Sang’a sub-location in Mukogodo East Ward.

Area MCA Paul Leshuel is now urging the community to discard some traditional practices that aggravate the adverse effects of climate change.

“One of the reasons why the majority of our people are rendered destitute after drought is that they tend to marry extra wives once they have a big herd. Once drought sets in and wipes all the animals, the family head is left with five wives and over 20 children to feed but with no source of income,” points out Mr Leshuel.

The ward representative said there were only about 300 head of cattle in the entire Il Ngwesi location, down from 5,000 due to drought.

“When the time comes for identifying the beneficiaries in the restocking programme, all leaders and not only the elected ones should be involved in identifying vulnerable families. If not well coordinated some deserving families could be left out on the assumption that they are well up simply because they had a big family,” said Mr Leshuel

Two weeks ago when Arid and Semi-arid Principal Secretary (PS) Kelloh Harsama presided over a public participation meeting in the Sololo area in Marsabit, he said 10 counties across Kenya were set to benefit from cattle feedlot programs. The feedlot facilities would be established in 490 wards for Sh15 billion, he said.

Mr Harsama pointed out that Marsabit County alone had set aside at least 5000 acres of land in Walda and Sololo areas where the cattle feedlots programme will be undertaken.

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