Livestock in Kenya accounts for 12% of Kenya’s GDP and 50% of the agriculture labour force. Approximately 70% of Kenya’s livestock is produced by about 10 million pastoralists in the Arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). These constitute 18 of the 20 poorest counties in Kenya and host the highest number of people living below the poverty line (below USD 1.25 per day)
Our Focus on Livestock
Why We Focus On Livestock
Our Vision
A modernized, efficient, organized and competitive meat industry that is linked to an improved value-added and profitable livestock production system
This vision will be achieved through the following objectives and interventions;
1.
Stimulate private sector investments to modernize and improve the sector competitiveness through the following interventions
- Creating consumer awareness on meat products, quality and safety to drive demand
- Promoting uptake of food safety standards by slaughterhouses and meat retailers
- Meat value addition and product differentiation
2.
Increase sector productivity to meet the growing demand for livestock products through the following interventions
- Promoting uptake of commercial fattening and finishing models to increase yields
- Integrated Animal Health Service Provision for production inputs to support production that is market oriented
3.
Create enabling environment and mainstreaming climate smart approaches to increase business resilience
- Large scale transformations reinforced by improved governance, policies and support from government, industry bodies and other market players
- Mainstreaming climate smart approaches in the critical upgrades
Sector At A Glance
The Sector
Livestock Sector employs 50% of agricultural labour force
- Livestock
- Others
Livestock contribution to Kenya’s overall GDP stands between 10% -13%.
- Livestock
- Others
Livestock contribution to Kenya’s agricultural GDP stands at 40%.
600,000 Metric Tonnes
That’s the amount of beef consumed in Kenya each year. However, data shows Kenyans are adapting white meat to replace red meat in their diets. White meat consumption is rising while red meat consumption is declining.
The Market
Kenya’s export has never exceeded 7,500 heads of cattle. Kenya’s export markets are the Middle East, West Africa, Central Africa and North Africa.
- Met Requirements
- Didn't Meet
98% of Kenyan produced beef, chevron and mutton does not meet the market requirements.
- Slabs
- Others
There are 334 licensed abattoirs in Kenya. 60% of those are slabs.
Only 2% of the licensed abattoirs (6 in total) are exporters and only 2 are manufactures.
This problem is majorly caused by the produce not meeting market requirements.
The Livestock
- ASAL Areas
- Other Areas
Approximately 88% of Kenya’s livestock is produced in ASAL areas. Out of those, only 14% are commercially traded in the market whereas the rest are reared for social and cultural reasons.
Livestock sector support approximately 10M Pastoralists in the ASALs.
This roughly a fifth of the entire Kenyan population depending on livestock for their livelihoods.
Our Impact In The Livestock Sector
Over 225,000 households (over 1.5 million people) have access to improved livestock markets, out of which 175,000 households (1.2 million people) have seen their incomes improve

New Pastoralist Reached
129,753 pastoralist households have access to quality and affordable animal health inputs and services through an agency-based distribution model

Increased Income
90,318 households have realised increased income of £23,835,651(from the sale of higher quality livestock

Private Sector Investments
Supporting a women-led cooperative of about 300 female members on livestock aggregation and trade for better market access. Through this initiative, over 6,000 sheep and goats have been aggregated from Marsabit and Samburu counties with a cumulative income of GBP 348,300 over the last 12 months
Learn About Our Work in the Livestock Sector

KMT Case Study
Pathways To Systemic Change in Kenya’s Livestock Sector
Projected Climate Change And Its Potential Impact On Cattle In Kajiado County
Our Research
Facilitating markets through research for evidence-based interventions
Our Case Studies
Actual examples of how our work is making a change
Our Blog
Opinion pieces and editorials on our work and related activities
Impact Stories
Stories from all over Kenya on how our work is impacting the lives of people