Kenyan livestock programme gets USAID, ACDI/VOCA support

The Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth Project (REGAL-AG) in Kenya has been awarded $20 million by the United States Agency for Development (USAID)  as part of  its expanded Feed the Future strategy. The programme will be implemented by ACDI/VOCA, an economic development organisation based in Washington, D.C., that has experience in managing agricultural development projects in Kenya.

REGAL-AG is a five-year programme that aims to improve local income and stimulate growth through projects that will better the performance of partners in the value chain, from livestock keepers to middlemen, traders, transporters and buyers.  For this undertaking, ACDI/VOCA will put up a competitive livestock value chain in Marsabit and Garissa.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a CGIAR institution, says, “Well-managed, the benefits to smallholders of keeping livestock are overwhelming.” ILRI reports that recent studies from Kenya, Egypt and Mexico show that children who do not get enough meat and milk in their diets may grow up physically and mentally compromised.

In East Africa a vibrant livestock subsector has broad implications. Animals not only directly produce food that is particularly valued in local diets, they also provide traction for crop cultivation and, when sold, serve as all-season sources of cash to buy inputs for crop production or pay for school fees, medicine, etc. They are a crucial link in nutrient cycles, returning nutrients to the soil in forms that plants can readily use, and add value to idle or marginal land.

REGAL-AG will encourage growth by improving market access, increasing the availability and affordability of inputs and services needed to benefit from market participation. ACDI/VOCA will also work with livestock keepers to help them better manage risk.

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