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The IGAD region has lost approximately Sh2 billion US dollars in the last two years from the death of close to 9 million livestock due to inadequate feed, fodder and water.
Animal Health Expert at IGAD Dr Wamalwa Kinyanjui said the situation has been aggravated by the far-reaching effects of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
He said Kenya which is a largely pastoralist community can achieve a meagre 40 per cent of its feed and fodder requirements which creates a sixty per cent shortage.
He was speaking during the Resilient African Feed Systems Stakeholder workshop in Naivasha planned by the African Union-InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Wamalwa said there was a need for countries like Kenya and others within the IGAD region to carry out an estimation of feed resources to meet the increasing demand for animal products.
“There are seasons when feed and fodder are in excess. Countries need to develop and use feed conservation approaches,” he said.
During the five-day workshop that kicked off Tuesday, the AU-IBAR said women in rural areas and informal sectors are more vulnerable to increased prices and unavailability of livestock-sourced foods in Kenya due to the crisis.
It was revealed that Kenya alone has lost more than 2 million livestock in two years due to the drought which is said to have been the worst in the last four decades.
The bureau said this means many families had their livelihoods eroded and income sources lost.
AU-IBAR Ag Director, Dr Nick Mwankpa said the crisis has been occasioned by climate change, the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“Feeds constitute 60-70 per cent of the total cost of animal production, the crises have exposed the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the African feed and fodder input and supply chains,” he said.
Mwankpa noted that addressing feed and fodder shortages in the short term protects livelihoods, and ensures business continuity and sustainable livelihoods.
AU-IBAR Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems Project proposes strengthening analytical capacity for evidence-based decision-making and attracting investment, identifying and up-scaling viable existing approaches in addressing the crisis.
“The multiplicity and increasing frequency and severity of shocks and their complex and interlocking effects demand an approach that will also strengthen resilience in feed and fodder systems,” said Mwankpa.
The workshop was attended by among others Director of Livestock Policy Research and Regulations, State Department for Livestock Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries Dr. Christopher Wanga.
“Mostly, the farmer has been left to deal with the feed and fodder production while the government provides an enabling environment for them to do well but the increasing cases of starvation and death of livestock has brought the realization of the need for more support from the State and its development partners,” said Wanga.
To address the crisis, he said the Kenya Development Corporation was giving loans to farmers to support feed and fodder production.
“The financial will help farmers overcome the challenges related to capital and procuring raw materials and concentrates while at the same time enabling the produce quality animal feeds that can sustain Kenya’s Livestock sector,” he said.
He added that the Livestock sector contributes almost 50 per cent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He applauded the AU for the meeting that brought together experts to look at the critical areas along the value chain in addressing the various roles of the stakeholders in availing of animal feeds and fodder. BY THE STAR