LiveStockEx bets on its feedlot programme to boost livestock production for Kenyan farmers

LiveStockEx is betting big on its feedlot programme as it seeks to boost livestock production for Kenyan cattle farmers.

The firm said Thursday that it is combining feed financing, animal tagging, guaranteed digital market access and secure sale and automated repayment methods for economic efficiency and risk management, allowing farmers to produce higher quality, market-ready beef faster and more reliably than traditional open-grazing systems, especially in areas with limited pasture or drought conditions.

The innovative platform digitizes livestock trading, with a promise to transform the livestock industry- a major component of Kenya’s economy. LiveStockEx is Kenya’s first digital livestock trading platform, and has now officially launched in Kenya, expanding from its successful operations in the United Kingdom.

“We help feedlots feed animals efficiently, track their progress, and sell them through a LiveStockEx,” the firm says.

The move by LiveStockEx comes barely months following the government’s decision last year to establish 450 feedlots across 21 Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) counties as the country grapples with a 60 per cent deficit of feeds.

It is a move aimed at turbocharging livestock production, and is being spearheaded by the State Department for Livestock.

The feed lots will have pasture lands to bridge the feed deficit. Three feed lots have already been set up in Chemogoch in Baringo County, Wajir West, and Kibiru in Meru County, which is close to an abattoir in the neighbouring Isiolo County. It also plans to roll out a commercial livestock breeding programme and a national vaccination programme to curb transboundary diseases.

“We can no longer keep animals for prestige. Once you commercialise, then you’re able to produce high-quality animals that meet the local and global market demand,” said the Director of Livestock, Bishar Elmi.

“LiveStockEx is not just another agri-tech platform. We are Kenya’s first digital livestock trading platform — focused on one thing, which is making livestock trade simple, transparent, profitable, and data-driven. The Feedlot Programme is an extension of that leadership — connecting feeding, financing, and markets into one ecosystem,” says the platform’s founders.