The government of Mandera has operationalised the Shimpir Fatuma livestock market in Mandera South.
Mandera Deputy Governor Maalim Mohamed said the county will continue allocating more resources to the sector.
“Mandera people are predominantly pastoralists. This makes livestock the backbone of our economy. And for that reason we will continue allocating enough funds to boost the sector,” he said.
Maalim said to cushion pastoralists against future shocks, the county facilitated registration of 7,089 pastoralists under the livestock insurance programme, with each beneficiary receiving a Sh6,000 bonus.
The county is predominantly home to pastoralist communities, whose livelihoods are dependable on livestock production.
However, the devastating drought of 2022-23 inflicted severe losses on the economy, following the death of livestock worth Sh11 billion.
“Despite the setback, the county did not despair. We stood firm, joined hands and sought external support to ensure our people remained hopeful as we continued to rebuild their livelihoods,” the deputy governor said.
He said through extensive vaccination campaigns, thousands of livestock have been immunised against major diseases.
“To strengthen disease monitoring and response, capacity-building initiatives saw 26 technical staff trained in participatory epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance, while 60 community disease reporters were equipped with the knowledge to enhance disease surveillance,” Maalim said.
The county has already vaccinated 563,112 sheep and goats against, 4,988 camels against RVF and 10,996 cattle against LSD.
Maalim said deworming efforts have covered 552,247 animals, while 5,864 animals have received treatment for infectious diseases.
Training has remained a priority, with 35 technical staff trained on collecting a mobile-based reporting tools and 90 community disease reporters trained on syndromic disease surveillance.
He said the county procured and distributed 540 modern beehives, enabling pastoralist communities to diversify their sources of income.
During his third annual state of the county address, governor Mohamud Khalif said the livestock sector received Sh2.11 billion allocation, representing six per cent of the total budget.
