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Kenya announces compensation for drought-hit pastoralists

Xinhua, February 20, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Kenyan ministry of agriculture and leading insurance companies on Monday announced 2.5-million-U.S.-dollar compensation for 12,000 pastoral households affected by drought in six counties.

Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Willy Bett said the compensation, embedded in the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program (KLIP), will be completed in February to enhance drought resilience among herders.

"The insurance payouts to pastoralists affected by the current drought will enable them to purchase fodder, water and medicine for their livestock," Bett told reporters, adding that Kenya's pioneering livestock insurance program will be expanded to all drought-prone counties

Kenya's ministry of agriculture in partnership with the World Bank and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in August 2016 launched the insurance program to compensate herders in 14 drought-prone counties.

The KLIP is designed to make advance payments to herders to enable them source for fodder elsewhere in case their natural grazing areas are depleted during the dry spell.

Bett said each pastoral household will receive 170 dollars in compensation from insurers to enable them to keep the animals alive until April when long rains are expected to ease drought.

He added that the state will mobilize additional resources to expand insurance coverage for herders in arid regions during the current dry spell.

"The livestock insurance program is a critical component of our national drought relief effort. It enables pastoralists to thrive and contribute to our national development agenda," Bett said.

Andew Mude, a Principal Research Scientist at ILRI, said that an insurance scheme for pastoralists is key to enhance the resilience of Kenya's livestock sector that is reeling from negative impacts of climate change. Endit