The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) has partnered with stakeholders in the livestock sector to come up with a project proposal aimed at supporting livestock trade and export in the Eastern Africa region.
The project, funded by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) will be implemented by KALRO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with a core mandate of supporting a collective strategy for livestock trade and export in Eastern Africa.
Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday during a stakeholders’ briefing meeting, KALRO Deputy Director General for Livestock, Dr Evans Ilatsia said that the project aims to create a regional project proposal that will address issues like biosafety, disease management and traceability to improve animal trade.
He highlighted that the project is aimed at enhancing compliance with international sanitary standards and improving the competitiveness of livestock trade across the countries where it will be implemented, that is Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Dr Ilatsia highlighted the need to strengthen livestock identification systems, certification processes, biosecurity, disease surveillance, and laboratory diagnostic capacity.
“These are very important components if we are to conquer the export market,” Dr Ilatsia said. “The East African region already exports significantly to the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. However, to match exporters like Australia, we must enhance our systems and take control of our own export capacity.”
He added that the project, currently in its development phase, will be instrumental in positioning Kenya and the region to expand its livestock exports and meet international standards.
Dr Ilatsia commended the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), for supporting Kenya’s livestock trade improvement efforts.
Animal health and agricultural research consultant Dr Henry Wamwayi emphasised the importance of involving trade experts and attachés in promoting livestock exports.
He urged close collaboration between veterinary departments and trade ministries to raise awareness about market requirements.
“Trade attachés are the ones tasked with promoting commodities abroad. Engaging them ensures that we address the issues necessary to effectively promote exports,” he noted.
Drawing from international experience, Dr Wamwayi cited examples from India, Australia, and the Gulf region, where specialised export-promotion agencies have strengthened livestock trade.
He also highlighted Somalia’s recovery in the export market after establishing quarantine stations aligned with international sanitary standards, enabling it to regain access to Gulf markets.
He stressed transparency in disease reporting as a critical pillar of market confidence: “If you report disease outbreaks honestly, you build credibility. If you do not report, yet diseases are present, your credibility as a country is at stake.”
Dr Wamwayi pointed out cross-cutting issues such as environmental sustainability, cultural considerations, and national security that influence livestock movement and disease control.
He called for more robust strategies to address informal and illegal cross-border livestock trade, which remains a major challenge to disease control efforts.
On livestock nutrition, he underscored the importance of quality feed free from chemical and antibiotic residues, calling for integration of ongoing feed-improvement initiatives into national trade strategies.
Dr Monika Maichomo, Director of the KALRO Veterinary Research Institute and lead proponent of the new project, highlighted several technologies the organisation has developed to support farmers.
Dr Maichomo said that among the new technologies are the thermostable Newcastle disease vaccine, now commercially scaled and reducing reliance on cold chains, the East Coast Fever (ECF) vaccine, currently being rolled out through a regulated commercial framework; the mastitis diagnostic kits; and feed supplements and feed blocks designed to help animals during nutritional stress.
Dr Maichomo said the ongoing project seeks to pilot a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for improving the trade of live animals. The model will also focus on compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards to unlock premium international markets.
“Farmers have long faced fragmented solutions,” she noted. “This pilot aims to create an integrated model that supports live-animal traders, aligns with international requirements, and ultimately improves farmers’ livelihoods.”
The project brings together farmers, policymakers, researchers, private-sector actors, and international partners, all working toward a unified goal of enhancing the region’s capacity to export livestock competitively and sustainably.
Stakeholders expressed optimism that the project’s next phase, once approved and funded, will lay the foundation for a more robust livestock export system capable of meeting global standards and improving income opportunities for farmers across the country.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
