County Director of Livestock Production Bobby Ewoi Ekadon yesterday in Lodwar opened a three-day workshop of De-Risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies (DRIVE).
DRIVE is a regional project funded by World Bank and implemented in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
The objective of the project is to protect pastoral economies against the risk of drought, increase financial inclusion of pastoralists and better connect them to markets.
In his remarks, Director Bobby thanked the organisers of the workshop and insisted that the project will facilitate livestock trade across countries in the Horn of Africa and boost livestock value chain by mobilizing private investments.
He thanked the National Government for its support to cushion livestock against effect of droughts by donating 8,000 bags of supplementary feeds and also shared the department’s plans targeting the pastoralists.
On his part, County Commissioner Jacob Ouma expressed optimism that the project will have positive impact on targeted communities in Turkana while County Director for Veterinary Services Dr. Benson Long’or welcomed the implementation of the project that he said was timely as it came when the county is facing a pro-longed drought.
The DRIVE project is a transformation of the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program (KLIP) that was implemented in Turkana County between 2015 – 2020.
ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) Country Manager Michael Mbaka pointed out that Turkana was among ten counties benefiting from the programme and revealed that registration of the pastrolists to have access to the insurance will provide rapid payouts during droughts cycles.
Participants who will undertake registration of livestock insurance for the targeted herders have been drawn from different National and County Government departments as well as financial institutions and private actors involved in the livestock value chain.
Others who spoke included Chairperson of the County Assembly Committee on Agriculture Etubon Samal and Deputy Director for Livestock Marketing Ernest Anzeze.
