Kenyan pastoralists: how changing livestock markets could reduce conflict

Livestock buyers and sellers should co-design markets to address common needs. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

Over nine million Kenyans are pastoralists out of a total population of 50 million. Together they hold livestock worth over US$1 billion. Livestock is their source of food, health, and wealth.

But livestock also causes conflicts. In some Kenyan communities, clashes between farmers and pastoralists erupt due to the scramble for fodder, water and space. Farms encroach on rangelands while livestock invade farms.