Field Stories

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Breaking the poverty cycle through Livestock Markets – The case of Lekuru Market in Samburu

By Miano Grace, Crane Todd, Koen Joosten Imagine trekking a distance of more than 20km to get to sell your livestock and then come back without making a sale. This was the case of Lekuru residents in Samburu County who would walk up to Suguta Marmar to sell their livestock and buy food stuffs. This was the nearest trading centre and failure to make a sale meant that the households would go without food for a week until the following market day.

This scenario has changed after commencement of Lekuru Market in 2004, started by the local community who decided to take their livestock to Lekuru instead of Suguta market. Since then,SNV Netherlands Development Organization in partnership with International Livestock Research Institute and Kenya Livestock Marketing Council has supported the market through establishment of governance stru
Cattle
ctures in the market. They have assisted in the formation of Livestock Marketing Associations (LMAs). These are community representatives elected from every location(administrative jurisdiction). SNV has built their capacity through trainings in governance, book keeping, finance management and exposure tours to other model markets in Samburu such as Lolkuniani. As a result of the project a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the County government and the community on sharing revenue. The county government collects fees from the kiosks while the LMA collects fees from the cattle and shoats yard. The community share is banked by LMAs who uses it to provide security in the market, keep the market clean and for CSR activities like paying for school bursaries and hospital bills for community members. Other development agencies like ACTED and USAID have also been involved in construction of loading ramp in the market.
The most important outcome has been the change in livelihood within the communities. Due to close proximity of the market and more income through the sale of livestock, the community can now access and afford a larger variety of food stuffs. Kiosks have come up where foodstuff, clothes and other household goods are sold even on non-market days. There
Food
are 250 kiosks, 70 of which are owned by the locals. Traders come from as far as Isiolo, Nyeri, Rumuruti and Nanyuki to sell. This has resulted in competition in the market, translating to a reduction in food prices. This is for example evidenced by the sugar price, which cost Kshs 95 in the market while in the major towns it sells at Kshs 120. Other foodstuffs that sell at relatively lower prices are maize flour, maize and beans. This also results in increased community resilience towards drought, as economic empowerme
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nt increases the ability to take quick and effective action in case of unforeseen weather.

Unlike the past, paying for school fees is no longer a problem for the local community, as the livestock market provides a quicker way of raising funds. The prices of livestock also improved with the introduction of the market in Lekuru. This can be explained by a higher quality of livestock, since they do not trek for long distances anymore. Additionally, external traders who sell in other terminal markets like Kimanjo, Kiamaiko in Nairobi also come to the market increasing the demand for livestock and therefore improving prices. This has motivated local pastoralists to more easily sell their livestock, which is an important coping mechanism in case of drought.

Another benefit from having a well-functioning livestock market is that animal health products have become accessible and affordable for pastoralists. Agrovets bring dewormers and other livestock drugs every market day. Previously community members would travel as far as Meru in search of vaccines, for example. Next to that, the district veterinary department also visits the market regularly to do disease surveillance and offer other veterinary services.
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The county revenue officer also confirmed that plans are underway to improve the infrastructure of the market. Various donors such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) are willing to spend approximately Kshs 6 million in construction of sale pens, loading ramps and stalls. He tongther with the other county officers are very grateful for the SNV role in building the capacity of the LMAs as it has played a role in increament of the county revenue from markets, and will also enable the LMAs to handle the infrastructure put up by other agencies. SNV through its local capacity builder Samburu Intergrated Development Program (SIDEP) shall continue to coach and mentor the LMAs for sustainability purposes.