The Garissa county and the USAID have embarked on a pilot initiative to distribute subsidised livestock supplementary feed to drought-hit areas.
The exercise targets 1,500 pastoralist households in Balambala, Lagdera and Dadaab subcounties.
It is meant to support pastoralists and agro-pastoralists affected by the ongoing drought.
The Sh5 million initiative is implemented by USAID-funded Livestock Marketing Systems in collaboration with the county Directorate of Livestock.
Speaking on Wednesday during the distribution exercise in Dadaab, the county director of livestock Dr Haret Hambe said his office had received 1,445 bags of feed pellets.
Hambe also said distribution to the affected areas has already commenced through the identified local service providers.
“We have already identified the needy households who are set to benefit. They will use a voucher system to acquire a bag at a cost of Sh500 from the service providers compared to the market rate of between Sh2300- Sh3000,” Hambe said.
He added that the directorate of Livestock is keen on embracing the paradigm shift as Governor Nathif Jama said during his swearing-in speech.
Jama called for the growing of hay and fodder in large mechanised farms in Fafi, Gababa and Ewaso plains, to reduce dependence on expensive commercial feeds to make the county feed secure.
Hambe said other partners like Save The Children, ICRC/KRC and Solo were supporting the distribution of livestock feeds in the county.
He said the county would continue to collaborate with more partners to provide the necessary support to livestock farmers until the drought ceases.
LMS county boss, John Kutwa said Sh750,000 of the grant has been earmarked for cash transfers to 25 traders who sell grains around livestock markets.
This is meant to boost the capacity of traders so they can offer a decent selection of human food for purchase by the farmers' patronising livestock markets across the county.
He added that the in-kind grant to the county also includes water trucking to areas far from water points, providing collapsible water tanks to livestock markets and strategic animal aggregation and watering points along the grazing routes.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
