The Kenya Feed and Fodder Alliance (KEFFA) has launched a five-year Strategic Plan (2025–2029) aimed at mobilizing investments, strengthening coordination, and driving growth in Kenya’s fodder sector, a key pillar of livestock productivity and food security.
The plan was unveiled during the inaugural Kenya Fodder Contracting and Investment Action (KEFFCIA), an event set to become an annual platform for reflection, accountability, and partnerships in the sector.
“It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Kenya's First Fodder Contracting and Investment Action (KEFFCIA),” said the KEFFA Chairperson in his opening remarks.
“This is the inaugural episode of what we believe will become a defining tradition, an event that sets the pace for fodder partnerships and establishes a sector-wide accountability mechanism.”
Since its establishment just one year ago, KEFFA has quickly positioned itself as the national platform for uniting actors across the fodder value chain.
With the support of the African Union’s Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the State Department of Livestock Development, the alliance has prioritized coordination, investment, and contracting as the sector’s engines of growth.
The Chairperson emphasized the urgency of investment, noting:
“We established [the fodder sector’s] valuation at USD 4.5 billion, a figure that clearly positions fodder as an economic sector of strategic importance.
Yet for decades, it has been under-financed, under-invested, and under-prioritised. During the last drought of 2021–2022, people felt the consequences most painfully, and the Ministry of Livestock reported the loss of 2.5 million head of livestock.
To prevent such losses, KEFFA’s strategic plan highlights innovative financing models, including the Cooperative Fodder Fund, the Sustainable ASAL Fodder Economy Fund (SAFE Fund), and the Land Commercialization Initiative.
These initiatives aim to strengthen resilience, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), which are home to Kenya’s largest livestock populations but also the most vulnerable to climate shocks.
The Chairperson called for unity among stakeholders:
“On behalf of sector actors and members of KEFFA, I appeal to all of us here to embrace strong coordination and accountability as the mechanisms to grow fodder into a sector that can attract the same level of financing and investment attention as other key economic drivers of our nation.”
At the forum, the Maasai Kajiado Women Dairy Cooperative Society Chairlady, Agnes Bene, underscored the human cost of fodder insecurity.
“Kajiado lost over 80% of its livestock in 2022 and our aggregation capacity dropped by more than 60%. Yet, we’ve grown to process and sell value-added dairy products – helping women earn livelihoods and educate their girls. Fodder security is essential to protect these gains,” he said.
KEFFA’s rallying call, “Fodder Security = Safeguarding Progress & Livelihoods,” captures the urgency and vision of the alliance as it seeks to build a sustainable, market-driven fodder sector that supports livestock productivity, nutrition, and Kenya’s economic development.
“Together, we can rewrite Kenya's food security and economic development story for good,” the KEFFA Chairperson concluded.