Buyers and sellers of camels at the Garissa's camel market. [Photo/softkenya.co.ke]
Camel prices have significantly dropped at the Garissa livestock market attributable to a severe drought ravaging the expanse of the county.
According to the Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Garissa branch, Abdirizak Ismail, a typical camel that usually sells at Sh 130,000 can now be purchased at Sh 20, 000 while a cow prices reduced to 15,000 from 70,000.
A camel in Garissa always costs an arm and a leg on a livestock market.
However, the narrative has changed in the wake of a severe harsh environmental condition weighing down on the resident making a camel cost a dime and a dozen.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the area KNUT boss, Abdirizak Ismail, said that Garissa residents are currently facing economic hardship to an extent that the country's education sector is affected.
“Our people depend on livestock for their economic livelihood. But as things stand, the prices of these animals have dropped drastically, thus directly impacting on their economic well-being,” Ismail said.
“Most parents can barely meet their basic necessities, leave alone paying school fees for their children. This is a double catastrophe for them,” he said.
“I am appealing to educationists, the county, and national government to move a step further and provide food to worst affected schools in the region. This will relieve the huge burden on parents struggling to sustain their families,” he added.
Ismail and another resident who requested for anonymity have asked the government to intervene and help control the drought situation so that students and parents will not have to suffer.
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