By Wajir Today Reporter | Tuesday, 9 September 2025.
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has called for transformative reforms in Kenya’s livestock sector, citing Botswana’s globally renowned beef industry as a model to emulate.
Governor Abdullahi, who led a delegation on a learning mission to Botswana, said the Southern African nation’s success shows how policy, law, and technology can turn livestock into a globally competitive export.
“Botswana’s model demonstrates how policy, law, and technology can safeguard herds, enhance trade, and ensure compliance with international standards,” he noted.
The Governor was accompanied by Garissa Governor Nathif Jama, former Cabinet Minister and current non-executive chairperson of the National Livestock Development and Promotion Service, Mohamed Ibrahim Elmi, Wajir’s County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Veterinary Services Mohamud Abdirahman Abdi, and other stakeholders from the national government.
The mission focused on Botswana’s robust animal health and traceability framework, which underpins its beef industry, now the country’s second-largest export after diamonds. Botswana’s beef, famed for being grass-fed, hormone-free, and sustainably raised, has secured access to premium markets in Europe, the UK, and the Middle East despite a national herd of under two million cattle.
By contrast, Kenya has over 21 million cattle, one of the largest herds in the world, but still lags behind in developing a globally competitive beef industry. Wajir County, home to one of the biggest livestock populations in Kenya, is seen as a potential driver of national growth in the sector but has struggled with poor infrastructure, weak markets, and limited value addition.
Governor Abdullahi said the lessons from Botswana would guide Wajir and other pastoralist counties as they push for reforms to make livestock a resilient and sustainable economic engine.
