Livestock farmers from Lesirkan, Ngilai, Baragoi, and Marti areas in Samburu have appealed to the county and national governments to hasten the process of buying 12,000 heads of cattle from them in an off-take programme to curb losses occasioned by the ongoing drought.
The herders expressed fear that they might lose all their cattle if the process is not carried out soon.
This comes after more than 1000 heads of cattle in their herds died since Saturday due to lack of water and pasture as the prolonged drought continues to bite.
“Nobody will be keeping livestock in the next two weeks from this region. We are trekking for more than 18 kilometres with weak animals in search of pasture and water. Most of them succumb to hunger along the way,” he said as quoted by Citizen Digital.
The herders are now urging the government to supply relief food to their hunger-stricken families back home as they have committed all their efforts to save their only sources of livelihood from dying.
The County Government of Samburu in collaboration with National Drought Management Authority also announced that they would be buying 10,000 heads of livestock in the county at a cost of Sh10,000 per cow as a drought mitigation measure.