article · Pastoralism Research Policy and Practice
Pastoralism in Kenya has historically been undervalued because conventional statistics overlook broader market and non-market contributions. Applying a total economic value framework captures both traditional livestock outputs and non-traditional resources such as honey, beeswax, firewood, fishing, and tourism. Through this assessment, Kenya's pastoral sector is estimated to have a total economic worth of 1.13 billion US dollars. The livestock sector generates 92 percent of this figure, equivalent to 1.04 billion US dollars, while non-livestock activities account for the remaining 8 percent, or 90.3 million US dollars. Annual pastoral livestock offtake contributes 189 million US dollars, and pastoral meat production provides 154,968 tonnes worth 389 million US dollars. This supply meets 28 percent of Kenya's total annual national meat consumption. Capturing these diverse values provides an evidence base to support increased public and private investment in pastoral regions.
Conventional economic metrics consistently understate the role of pastoral systems by ignoring non-market goods and informal trade. Demonstrating that pastoralism accounts for over a quarter of national meat consumption and more than one billion US dollars in economic value highlights the sector's critical role in national food security and regional livelihoods, justifying targeted policy attention and infrastructure development.
The abstract outlines an economic valuation methodology rather than a commercial product or technical invention. However, these quantitative findings provide baseline data for development funders, livestock agribusinesses, and policymakers seeking to justify and design targeted capital investments in pastoral supply chains and rangeland enterprises. The work is analytical research directly applicable to economic planning and policy design, but does not present a deployable commercial technology.
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The value of pastoralism practiced in Kenya is not well appreciated, even though it is said to be enormous. The available statistics tend to underestimate this value from the point of view of its contribution to the local and national economies, due to the inadequacy of data and application of inappropriate valuation methodologies. This study analysed the contribution of pastoralism to Kenya’s national economy, using the total economic value (TEV) approach and by considering the traditional and non-traditional pastoral values. Secondary data were collected on livestock population, herd composition and structure, honey, beeswax, firewood, fishing and tourism. The findings of this study show that Kenya’s pastoral sector has an economic worth of US$1.13 billion with the livestock sector and non-livestock sector accounting for 92% (US$1.04 billion) and 8% (US$0.0903 billion), respectively. The annual national pastoral livestock offtake was valued at US$0.189 billion, while annual meat offtake was estimated at 154,968 tonnes, valued at US$0.389 billion. The national annual meat consumption was estimated at 553,200 tonnes, of which pastoral meat contributed 154,968 tonnes or 28%. The TEV approach integrates the many aspects of economic value contributed by pastoral systems, including market and non-market goods and services that are usually not accounted for. An accurate estimate of the contribution of pastoral production can be instrumental in lobbying for enhanced investment in the pastoral areas to boost environmentally sound development.
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DOI: 10.1186/s13570-019-0144-x
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