Sell your animals to avoid losses, pastoralists told
Pastoralists in Isiolo have been asked to sell some of their animals and remain with a few ‘manageable’ ones to avoid incurring losses due to the biting drought.
National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) county director Lordman Lekalkuli said commercial destocking would ease pressure on strained natural resources and reduce resource-based conflicts.
“Let them sell some of their livestock when they are in good condition because they can fetch better prices and restock after the drought situation improves,” Mr Lekalkuli appealed.
The drought in the county is in the alarming stage and worsening, he said, adding that more than half of Isiolo residents were facing hunger.
More than four million Kenyans in 23 arid and semi-arid (ASAL) counties are in dire need of food assistance due to the drought, with rains having failed in previous seasons and farmers not planting crops.
A majority of water sources in the county have dried up, with residents walking as many as 16km in search of the crucial commodity.
Cash transfers
Mr Lekalkuli asked pastoralists to reactivate their resource-sharing protocols for peaceful coexistence.
He said the government was committed to building local communities’ resilience to drought and ensuring they are food-secure through cash transfers, water projects and providing animal feeds and farm inputs.
In partnership with the county Health department, the NDMA will continue providing residents with nutrition and sanitation information to beat high malnutrition among children aged below five.
A new NDMA report shows that 942,000 children aged below five in 19 ASAL counties are acutely malnourished, with 134,000 pregnant or nursing women also acutely malnourished and in need of treatment.
During a recent visit to Isiolo, the NDMA chief executive, retired Col Hared Hassan Adan, said drought in 23 ASAL counties was worsening and that the number of people facing hunger could increase in the coming three months. BY DAILY NATION

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