By Issa Hussein - Reporter
Kenya, 3 June 2026 - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its European Union-funded Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern Africa (PLACE) programme, has intensified efforts to strengthen the resilience of pastoralist communities in Mandera County, which has in recent years been battered by both prolonged drought and devastating floods.
The latest interventions focused on improving livestock disease surveillance, mapping livestock migration routes, and enhancing dairy farming skills among local communities.
As part of the initiative, the PLACE project conducted a three-day refresher training on Enhanced Syndromic Surveillance for Community Disease Reporters across the Mandera Cluster.
According to FAO, the training that ended on Wednesday aimed at strengthening community capacity for early detection and rapid response to transboundary animal diseases that threaten livestock production and pastoral livelihoods.
“By enhancing surveillance systems, PLACE plays a critical role in protecting livestock health, supporting livelihoods, and improving resilience in the Mandera Cluster,” FAO said in a statement.
Livestock remains the backbone of Mandera's economy, with thousands of households relying on animals for food and income. However, recurrent climate shocks have increased vulnerability to disease outbreaks, pasture shortages, and loss of livelihoods.
In another key intervention, FAO, working closely with local communities, completed the mapping and assessment of livestock transhumance routes and related services across Mandera County. The exercise was carried out through seven consultative workshops held in Mandera East, Mandera North, Banisa, and Lafey sub-counties.
Community members participated in validating livestock movement routes, identifying infrastructure and service gaps, and prioritizing interventions needed to improve livestock mobility and access to essential services.
The exercise produced validated maps of livestock migration corridors, identified critical infrastructure deficiencies, and generated community-driven priorities for future investments.
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According to FAO, the participatory approach will help ensure that future interventions are evidence-based and tailored to the needs of pastoral communities.
“This participatory approach will ensure that future investments are evidence-based, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of pastoral communities, contributing to more resilient livelihoods and sustainable food systems,” the agency said.
The programme also targeted dairy farmers in Banisa through a five-day integrated Training of Trainers (ToT) programme involving 32 participants, 66 per cent of whom were women, drawn from the Banisa Milk Producers Cooperative Society and six affiliated groups.
The training combined cooperative governance and business management skills with practical lessons on milk hygiene, quality testing, zoonotic disease prevention, and value addition.
Participants gained hands-on experience in producing value-added dairy products including yoghurt, ghee, condensed milk, and milk candies while learning how to assess profitability and improve enterprise performance.
Upon completion, all participants qualified as Trainers of Trainers and are expected to transfer the skills to other dairy farmers within their communities.
The interventions form part of broader efforts to help Mandera's pastoralists adapt to climate change, recover from recent droughts and floods, and build sustainable livestock-based livelihoods.