The Government will establish national animal feed reserves to protect livestock and pastoralist livelihoods from recurring droughts that have previously wiped out over 2.5M animals and caused losses exceeding Sh50B.
CS Sen. Mutahi Kagwe announced the move in Embu County, saying drought is now a recurring reality requiring permanent preparedness measures.
The reserves, comprising hay, silage and other drought fodder, will be stocked during surplus periods and deployed early during dry spells, guided by early warning systems.
Counties will lead feed planning and distribution, supported by the national government, with cooperatives acting as last-mile delivery agents to ensure feed reaches livestock owners in time, preventing deaths and distress sales.
The government will also tighten controls on livestock movement to curb the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease and other outbreaks, intensify vaccination campaigns, and strengthen biosecurity at checkpoints.
At the same event, he urged dairy farmers to boost productivity by improving feeding and management rather than increasing herd sizes. Embu produces 101.3M litres of milk annually, but productivity remains low at 8L per cow per day.
With better feeding and cooperative coordination, output could more than triple. Additional funding has been approved for more milk coolers in Embu to reduce post-harvest losses and support quality-based payments.
Kagwe said the strategy, anchored on feed reserves, disease control, cooperative-led subsidies and cold-chain expansion,aims to end reactive drought responses, safeguard pastoralist incomes and strengthen food security.
