By James Murimi - Reporter
Kenya, July 8, 2026 - Kenya is seeking to transform its livestock industry into a globally competitive export powerhouse as the national and county governments intensify efforts to commercialise the meat value chain and unlock billions of shillings from international markets.
Speaking during the opening of the National Meat Conference at Chaka Ranch in Nyeri County on Wednesday, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the country possesses one of Africa's largest livestock resources but continues to lose enormous economic opportunities due to weak commercialisation, limited processing capacity and inadequate export infrastructure.
Kahiga said the conference comes at a critical time when Kenya is positioning itself to expand access to lucrative markets in the Gulf, Asia and across Africa through improved livestock traceability, value addition and investment in modern meat processing facilities.
"The transformation of our livestock and meat sector is not a national conversation alone. It is a devolved one, built county by county and farmer by farmer," he said.
The governor noted that although Nyeri is not among Kenya's largest meat-producing counties, it serves as the gateway to the country's key livestock-producing regions, including Laikipia, Samburu, Baringo and the North Eastern counties, making it strategically placed to support the industry's growth. He said the county's planned agro-industrial park will prioritise meat and leather processing to boost value addition and attract investment.
Kahiga painted a picture of an industry with enormous untapped potential, noting that livestock contributes about 12 per cent of Kenya's Gross Domestic Product and more than 40 per cent of agricultural GDP, generating approximately Sh235 billion in 2024.
He said Kenya's meat exports have been expanding rapidly, growing at an average annual rate of 39 per cent, with goat meat exports to the United Arab Emirates alone earning about Sh5.47 billion during the first half of 2025.
Despite an estimated national herd of 22 million cattle and 58 million goats and sheep, Kahiga said Kenya still imports meat because the country's biggest challenge lies not in production but in commercialisation.
"This is not a production problem. It is a commercialisation problem," he said.
"Out of nearly 1,000 slaughterhouses across the country, only seven currently meet international export standards. That gap between what we hold and what we capture is precisely where this conference must focus."
The governor urged counties to play a central role in implementing the government's livestock reforms, arguing that programmes aimed at improving traceability, feed systems, value addition, branding and market access can only succeed through strong county participation.
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He welcomed the planned rollout of the Animal Traceability and Registration System (ANITRAC), describing it as a game changer for herd health management, disease control and access to premium export markets.
Kahiga revealed that the digital traceability platform was developed by a technology provider based at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri and called on the national government to adequately fund counties to implement the programme.
He also stressed the need to organise smallholder farmers into cooperatives and feedlot systems to increase commercial production and improve bargaining power in export markets.
The governor said Nyeri had already committed county resources to support the rollout of ANITRAC and pledged to work with the State Department for Livestock Development and the Kenya Meat and Livestock Exporters Council to upgrade slaughterhouses to export-grade standards.
He said the county also plans to support cooperative models that will enable farmers to access emerging markets while ensuring producers benefit from value addition, branding and processing.
"We are committed to ensuring that the value captured from processing, branding and export accrues in meaningful part back to the producers," Kahiga said.
Warning that Kenya risks losing ground to international competitors, Kahiga urged both levels of government and private investors to move with speed in modernising the sector.
"The world is not waiting for Kenya. Our competitors in traceability, processing infrastructure and market branding are moving. The question is whether we are ready to commercialise together at the pace and scale this moment demands," he said.