Kenya launches US$20M fodder funds to shield livestock from drought shocks

KENYA – Kenya’s livestock sector has received a significant boost with the launch of two pioneering fodder financing funds worth KES 2.6 billion (approximately US$20 million), unveiled during the country’s first Kenya Fodder Contracting and Investment Action (KEFFCIA) forum in Nairobi.

The event, convened by the Kenya Feed and Fodder Alliance (KEFFA) in partnership with the African Union’s Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the State Department for Livestock, brought together over 150 stakeholders, including cooperatives, county leaders from arid and semi-arid regions, financiers, and development partners. 

The forum marked a new phase in addressing one of the sector’s most persistent challenges: inadequate and unreliable feed supply.

Innovative financing for feed security

Central to the forum were two new financing models designed to make fodder production sustainable and investable. 

The Cooperative Fodder Fund (CFF) will enable dairy cooperatives to ring-fence a small levy from milk collections to finance fodder production, preservation, and storage. 

This will allow cooperatives to build local feed reserves, reduce dependence on costly credit, and buffer farmers against recurring milk supply shocks during droughts.

The second model, the Sustainable ASAL Fodder Economy (SAFE) Fund, targets arid and semi-arid lands. 

County leaders endorsed the fund, which will collect levies from slaughterhouses and channel them into fodder production, feed centres, and climate-resilient infrastructure. 

With Kenya losing an estimated 2.5 million livestock during the 2021–2022 drought, the SAFE Fund represents a significant shift from emergency relief to long-term resilience. 

Counties pledged to legally anchor the fund, manage it transparently, and align it with local climate adaptation strategies.

A step toward food security

AU-IBAR Director Dr. Huyam Salih underscored the importance of fodder in transforming livestock systems. 

“For many years the livestock sector in Africa has been held back by inadequate feed and fodder. If we fix feed, we will have fixed food and we will have secured the future of our livestock sector, our economy and our people,” she said.

KEFFCIA will now become an annual forum for accountability and investment in fodder. 

By spotlighting the Cooperative Fodder Fund and the SAFE Fund, the event demonstrated how innovative financing and local partnerships can safeguard livelihoods, increase productivity, and secure Kenya’s livestock future.

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.