Lead image for Firm up Livestock Bill to secure livelihoods.
When the Livestock Bill 2024 was introduced to the National Assembly in June 2024, it was a milestone that, among other things, left indigenous peoples, especially pastoralists expectant considering that the piece of legislation, if enacted promised better livelihoods.
The Bill covers regulations, inputs and products, research and capacity building, establishment of training institutes and access to veterinary services. But it was withdrawn from the House for lacking critical voices and booked for public participation as a way of firming it up.
Unfortunately, two years after the withdrawal, the proposed law has yet to be taken for public participation, further hurting possibility of delivering a water-tight law. While Kenya lacks clear steps to public participation, it is possible that the two-year lull will distract stakeholders, who may have moved to other priorities.
Among other gaps, the Bill ignored the voices of pastoralists and other indigenous peoples as is enshrined in the Constitution.
Critically, 70 percent of the country’s livestock population is in the hands of pastoralists in the arid and semi-arid counties, meaning failing to address their concerns will leave a key constituency hamstrung. In Kenya, livestock sector contributes close to 4.4 percent of GDP while employing about 50 percent of the workers in agriculture.
Herders have, for years, articulated the urgency for their recognition and inclusion in development and policy making in different fora This recognition, which in the foregoing processes, the government as acknowledged, should be seen to be implemented in the current Livestock Bill 2024.
As stakeholders wait for public participation, we assess some of the areas that our review shows need a retouch, to especially secure the rights of indigenous peoples, including pastoralists, before the Bill returns to the House for debate.
The right place to start is what the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, divides functions between counties and national government. Among others, crop and animal husbandry, livestock sale, county abattoirs, plant and animal disease control, and fisheries are functions of county governments while the national government takes care of agriculture and veterinary policies.