Govt to buy more livestock from drought-hit areas in Kilifi
Assembly Deputy Speaker Teddy Mwambire (Centre) speaks to journalists outside Kilifi Governor's office while National Drought Management Authority County coordinator Morowa Dhadho (left) and County Secretary Owen Baya (right) look on. They met yesterday to discuss ways of mitigating the drought situation in Kilifi County where thousands of animals are dying due to starvation. PHOTOS | KAZUNGU SAMUEL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- According to the Kilifi County coordinator, the animals will be slaughtered and distributed to vulnerable people in the county.
- Severe drought has forced livestock farmers to sell off animals to middlemen at low prices to avoid losses from death.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has begun buying livestock from farmers in Kilifi County as they continue to count losses following the deaths of their animals due to a prolonged drought.
The first phase of the Kilifi County livestock off-take and slaughter programme is being implemented in Bamba, Kayafungo and Mariakani, county coordinator Morowa Dhadho has said.
Speaking after holding a three-hour special crisis meeting at the governor’s office in Kilifi, Mr Dhadho said the national government sent officers to the affected areas on Tuesday to start buying livestock from farmers, with a first target of 457 animals.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the NDMA, Red Cross and Coast Water Service Board. They brainstormed on ways of mitigating the drought crisis that has so far killed thousands of animals in the county.
County Secretary Owen Baya and Assembly Deputy Speaker Teddy Mwambire also attended the meeting.
Mr Dhadho said the animals will be slaughtered and distributed to needy people in the county.
“Meat will be distributed to 162 vulnerable households in areas already identified by the community at village level. The targeted beneficiaries are people with disability, the terminally ill, widows and orphans,” he said.
At least 5,500 animals have been affected by the prolonged drought, with some estimates indicating double that number. This has forced livestock farmers to sell off animals to middlemen at low prices to avoid losses from deaths.
Animals are going for as low as Sh700 for goats while cattle are being sold off for Sh1,500.
Mr Baya has called the current drought a calamity and appealed for help as more than 200,000 face starvation in the county.
“The county government has almost exhausted its resources after leading a rigorous three-months' food distribution exercise in the county where more than 20 tons of food was distributed,” he said.
Mr Dhadho said the NDMA had set aside Sh11.5 million to respond to the effects of drought in the county. The programme is financed by the European Union’s Drought Contingency Fund.
