On July 10th, 2024, at the Breakfast Meeting held at the Trade Mark Hotel in Nairobi, key stakeholders in Kenya’s livestock sector gathered to discuss pressing issues and prepare for the Third Kenya National Fodder Commercialization Conference. The event was attended by Hon. Jonathan Mueke, Principal Secretary Livestock; the Director of Livestock Production; the Kenya Dairy Board; the Kenya Feed and Fodder Alliance; Feed and Fodder Sector Actors; Strategic Partners; stakeholders in all capacities; and Dr. Stanley Mutua, RAFFS Project Kenya Country Focal Point. AU-IBAR was represented by Dr. Sarah Ossiya, the Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS) Project Coordinator, who delivered a speech on behalf of AU-IBAR Director Dr. Huyam Salih, highlighting critical challenges and opportunities within the sector.
The speech underscored the significant cost of feeding animals and the underdeveloped supply chains in Kenya's livestock sector. Despite being one of six core RAFFS Project countries with a Fodder Association, Kenya is underfeeding its livestock due to insufficient feed for maintenance, reproduction, lactation, and other needs. The speech also highlighted the nutritional challenges faced by the Kenyan population, such as stunted children.
It challenged four key assumptions: the belief that animals are adequately fed when it rains, the perception that milk and other livestock-sourced foods are luxuries, the idea that disaster is only recognized when animals die, and the misconception that visible losses are the most significant. Emphasizing the need for commercialization and strategic support to address these challenges, the speech aimed to improve livestock production efficiency, food security, and nutritional outcomes for the population.
AU-IBAR's full support for the Third Kenya National Fodder Commercialization Conference (3rd NFCC) was a major highlight of the speech. AU-IBAR called on strategic partners, financial institutions, and private sector entities to fully engage in the fodder commercialization process. Such collective efforts are seen as transformative for Kenya's livestock sector.
