The government had started buying malnourished animals from pastoralists in Garissa County, in a bid to lessen the losses on farmers.
Speaking at the Garissa Livestock Market, Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) Commissioner Hassan Jelle said the government had allocated Sh170 million for the first phase of the exercise.
He added that the exercise aims at cushioning the pastoralists against the drought.
“The programme is not a business, but something meant to help the farmers. Instead of losing their animals to drought and hardship, the President said they should sell them and use the money for other purposes or buy other animals when the drought ends,” he said.
Jelle said about 1,200 animals will be bought in Garissa, 200 from each constituency with six agents already appointed to carry out the exercise in the constituencies.
“We don’t want to start receiving complaints. This is the President's programme and we want to ensure it is as clean as possible. We will buy each animal for Sh15,000 to Sh18,000, depending on how it is,” he said.