Kenya, FAO and EU launch livestock feed support for drought-hit Mandera

KENYA – The Kenyan government, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU), has rolled out emergency livestock feed support to Mandera County amid drought conditions that have pushed nearly half a million people into acute food insecurity.

The intervention follows the failure of the October to December 2025 short rains, which worsened an already fragile situation across Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). 

A total of 8,640 bags of range cubes valued at Sh32 million ($244,600) have been dispatched to sustain 1,612 vulnerable households and their livestock. 

The intervention, implemented under the EU-funded Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern Africa (PLACE) programme, comes at a time when Mandera has been classified under IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), with projections indicating a likely deterioration to IPC Phase 4 (Emergency).

According to the 2025 Short Rains Assessment Report, an estimated 497,950 people in Mandera are already struggling to meet basic food needs. 

Livestock body conditions in Mandera have significantly deteriorated due to prolonged feed shortages, disease outbreaks and starvation. Cattle, sheep, and goats are reported to be in critical condition, exposing pastoral families to severe income losses and reduced access to milk, a key source of nutrition for children.

Nationally, about 3.5 million Kenyans now require food assistance as drought conditions intensify across ASAL counties.

Kello Harsama, Principal Secretary for ASALs and Regional Development, noted that while the government is providing animal feeds to selected counties, the scale of the crisis makes it impossible to cover all affected livestock. “It is a huge budget for the government to cover the number of livestock affected, but we are targeting the worst-hit counties,” he said.

The support is being implemented through the Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern Africa programme, funded by the European Union with 47 million euros (US$56 million).

Beyond feed distribution

Alongside the feed initiative, the PLACE programme will supply Mandera County with 600,000 doses of Peste des Petits Ruminants vaccines and 100,000 doses of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia vaccines. Deworming and treatment campaigns are also planned to curb disease outbreaks that often follow nutritional stress.

Farayi Zimudzi, FAO Representative in Kenya, warned that droughts in the region are becoming more frequent and more intense. She said the shorter intervals between drought episodes require coordinated action and long-term solutions, including climate-smart agriculture and improved fodder production systems. 

EU Ambassador Henriette Geiger said the European Union has supported Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority for the past decade and stressed the need to intensify efforts to address new climate challenges. She expressed hope that the intervention will help families access milk from their livestock and cushion them during the drought.

Similar livestock support and vaccination campaigns have been implemented in other ASAL counties in previous drought cycles, helping to reduce animal deaths and speed up recovery once rains resume. 

Authorities say the combination of feed, vaccination and veterinary services in Mandera is designed to protect core breeding stock, safeguard household incomes and prevent a deeper humanitarian crisis.

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