Kenya's livestock sector remains underfunded and neglected despite a substantial growth in private-sector investments in the entire agriculture sector.
This is according to the Livestock Investor Landscape study by Gatsby Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and AgThrive, whose findings were were unveiled on Tuesday at the livestock investors forum in Nairobi.
The report says since 2015, investors have made over $500 million in agriculture, with only 10 per cent of this being in livestock-related ventures.
"This is despite the sector's projected growth whose products are foreseen to grow by up to 50 per cent in the coming six years," the report reads.
"Consequently, there is a clear opportunity for strategic investments to drive growth and innovation in the sector and ensure that livestock production is done sustainably to mitigate environmental and social harms."
The sector is estimated to support an estimated 25 million livelihoods and contributes about 42 per cent to the national agricultural GDP.
Currently, it is estimated to be only receiving $110-160 million annually, amount stakeholders at the forum termed as relatively little calling for more capital.
Livestock businesses, investors and development agencies at the forum thus expressed their appetite for funding the Kenyan livestock sector.
The study also highlights the country's challenges towards sector funding.
They included informality of the sector, risks at the production level like disease outbreaks and weather-related risks.
Lack of visibility of good opportunities for livestock investments and lack of ‘investor-ready businesses are further constraints noted to the affecting the sector's funding.
Nevertheless, the stud says dairy and poultry received more than 50 per cent of the deals in the review period (2023), underscoring investors’ perception of lower risk in the value chains.
"Their established businesses, strong revenue streams and reliable consumer demand through formal marketing outlets such as supermarkets make them particularly attractive,” noted Kristin Girvetz, director at AgThrive.
Arjun Bhoopal from Gatsby Africa reiterated the constraints to private sector funding, saying the capital is plenty, at least in the short term, but identifying viable investment opportunities remains a challenge for the investors.
"Through collaboration with investors and businesses, we can explore new avenues to mitigate risk and reduce financing costs, driving investments across Kenya and the continent," Bhoopal said.
ILRI assistant director general Shirley Tarawali, called on the investors at the forum to unlock more finance for livestock solution in order to meet the growing demand for milk, meat and eggs in the country.
"Investments are also needed to grow the livestock sector sustainably, thereby creating triple wins that benefit smallholder farmers, efforts for climate adaptation and mitigation, and Kenya’s economic growth and sustainable development agenda," she said.
The forum also provided a platform for exploring collaborative opportunities to unlock further investment for the Kenya livestock sector.
Kenya Development Corporation for instance, noted from their livestock investment scope survey, a total of 46 applications were received inviting investment.
"These have a project pipeline of $34 million (Sh5 billion) with the private sector expected to provide $25.5 million (Sh3.7 billion)," KDC said.
