Kenyan pastoralists hit by drought call on govt to come to their rescue

Farmers in southern Kenya are calling on the government to come to their rescue as they lose their livestock to one of the worst droughts in decades.

Feeble cows with ribcages protruding from their sides. Such is the painful sight that herders face at this livestock market in Kajiado, southern Kenya.

According to the Kenya News Agency, herders are calling on the county and national government to buy meat from them as they lose their livestock to an unprecedented drought.

“We are suffering. We rely on livestock to live, but you can now see how the cows are dying and some unable to stand on their feet”, farmer Philip Kaloi, laments.

If farmers rush to sell their animals before they starve to death, prices of livestock in drought-hit areas have however dropped significantly. Thus, impacting entire families.

“We are unable to feed our children, our livestock, we don’t have anything. We can no longer afford to pay for school fees since we rely on livestock. Our children are being sent home daily for lack of school fees”, Kaloi explains.

The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought in more than four decades. It has decimated cattle and crops leaving 3.5 million food insecure Kenyans, according to the World Food Program.

Over 20 million people, including 10 million children, in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia to fall in need of water and food assistance through 2022