Political economy of livestock input subsidies reforms in Kenya

The livestock sector contributes significantly to Kenya’s economic growth, contributing about 12% of the overall GDP, 40-42% of agricultural GDP and supports over 10 million people (Sirak et. al, 2023 ). The country’s population trend, which is projected to double by 2050 (FAO 2019), places a heavy demand on the livestock sector to feed the growing human population. This calls for growth transformation of the livestock sector but is faced with both opportunities and challenges (FAO 2019 ). The associated challenges include feeding, animal health, breeding and markets and are linked to access barriers, high cost and low quality of inputs. The successive Kenyan governments since 2002 have focused on an agricultural and economic transformation agenda aimed at improving agricultural productivity and generating higher-value-added outputs to enhance food security, income growth, and employment. For the livestock sector, this has been implemented through various strategies and the introduction of input subsidies at the national and county levels to address input access and cost barriers, especially for smallholder farmers and pastoralists. The implementation of the devolved system of government under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, empowered county governments to design their own subsidy programs, leading to the expansion of livestock input subsidies beyond national-level efforts.

This study assesses the livestock input subsidies landscape in Kenya and the political economy factors that facilitate or hinder progress towards growth transformation of the livestock sector. It focuses on livestock subsidy programs implemented in the last decade.