USAID launches new campaign targeting Turkana pastoralists

The USAID Feed the Future Livestock Market System (LMS) has unveiled a Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) campaign dubbed ‘Ufugaji Bora, Maisha Bora’, that seeks to inspire the uptake of good farming practices in Turkana County.

The ACDI/VOCA campaign, which is being done in collaboration with Mercy Corps and the Boma project,  focuses on changing the behaviours of individuals and communities and environmental factors affecting those behaviours in order to increase economic opportunities and market equity for smallholder livestock producers in the county.

The project intends to convince pastoralists to invest in technologies such as immunization, high-quality foods like hay, adoption of hygienic milk handling processes and selling of animals through aggregation channels.

Speaking during the launch event at Lodwar Youth Polytechnic, Turkana Deputy Governor Peter Lotethiro underscored that effective implementation of the program will help farmers improve on matters livestock management which will in turn translate to greater yields.

“The County Government is fully behind the campaign as it will equip pastoralists with information for better livestock management thus generating more income for them and attracting more revenue at the Turkana Livestock Markets,”  he said.

“We are happy to collaborate with the County Government of Turkana on this SBC campaign which is a step towards transforming our communities. Through the campaign, we want to empower and bring lasting change among the pastoralist communities by imparting the knowledge that will ultimately improve their well-being and quality of life,” Dr. George Wamae, Senior Market Systems Specialist, Kenya Livestock Market Systems Associate added.

The Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity is the USAID-funded program as part of the Feed the Future Initiative for addressing global hunger, food security, and farmers' livelihoods. It is currently in its fourth year of implementation. Its core objective is to strengthen people’s resilience to shocks and stresses, reduce poverty, eradicate household hunger and chronic malnutrition in the county.