NAIROBI, Kenya – Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has challenged Kenya to unlock the full potential of its Sh397 billion meat industry by investing in value addition, modern processing, job creation and premium export markets.
Speaking during the official opening of the Kenya Meat Expo 2026, Kagwe said the country has the livestock resources, domestic market, entrepreneurial capacity and geographical advantage needed to compete in regional and international meat markets.
He said the priority should now be turning that potential into higher productivity, investment, jobs, exports and better incomes for farmers and pastoralists.
Kenya produced 613,627 tonnes of meat in 2024, valued at approximately Sh397 billion. This represented a 10.2 per cent increase in production volume and a 30.5 per cent rise in value compared with 2023.
Beef accounted for about 260,000 tonnes, valued at approximately Sh160 billion, while significant opportunities remain in goat meat, mutton, poultry, camel meat, pork and emerging value chains such as rabbit meat.
Kenya must stop exporting jobs
Kagwe warned that Kenya loses potential jobs and income when it exports livestock without processing them locally.
“When we export the animals, then we are sending out jobs. We are exporting jobs to Europe. We are exporting jobs to Dubai. We are exporting jobs to the Middle East,” he said.
The CS challenged the country to process, brand and export more meat and meat products so that a larger share of the value created remains in Kenya and reaches farmers and pastoralists.
He said value addition could create opportunities across slaughtering, processing, packaging, cold-chain logistics, branding, manufacturing and international trade.
Quality more important than number of slaughter facilities
Kenya has approximately 2,000 slaughter facilities, comprising 49 large slaughterhouses, 322 medium slaughterhouses and about 1,530 slaughter slabs.
However, Kagwe said the sector should focus less on the number of facilities and more on their quality, compliance and ability to meet market requirements.
“It is not just a question of quantity. It is also an issue of quality,” he said.
He called for improvements in hygiene, meat inspection, refrigeration, compliance, capacity utilisation, waste management, logistics and market connectivity.
According to the CS, strengthening these areas would enable Kenyan meat producers to meet higher standards and command better prices in domestic and international markets.
Animal health and food safety at the centre
Kagwe said the meat value chain begins from the birth of an animal and continues all the way to consumption.
He therefore placed animal health and food safety at the centre of the industry’s transformation, calling for stronger disease surveillance, vaccination, veterinary services, laboratory capacity, biosecurity and animal movement control.
A key component of this strategy is the Animal Identification and Traceability System (ANITRAC).
The system is expected to give livestock individual identities and create records covering their origin, ownership, vaccination history and movements before slaughter.
“Going forward, every Kenyan animal should have an identity and a traceable history,” Kagwe said.
He noted that technology supporting the system is being developed locally, including animal identification chips and digital systems by Kenyan universities.
Beyond supporting food safety and export requirements, ANITRAC is expected to strengthen efforts against livestock theft and banditry by making attempts to tamper with animal identification easier to detect.
Investment needed across livestock value chain
Kagwe also called for greater investment in improved genetics, artificial insemination, breeding, animal nutrition, commercial feedlots and climate-smart livestock production.
He urged stakeholders to invest in water pans, boreholes and livestock insurance to make production more resilient to climate-related shocks.
On feedlots, the CS said investors must ensure adequate feed, water and infrastructure to support healthy and productive animals.
He also emphasised the importance of insurance in protecting farmers against losses associated with drought, floods and El Niño-related weather events.
The government, counties and private sector, he said, must work together to create an environment capable of attracting investment throughout the livestock value chain.
Kagwe urges youth to view livestock as a business
The CS challenged young Kenyans to look beyond traditional livestock keeping and view the sector as a modern commercial industry.
He said opportunities extend from breeding and animal nutrition to meat processing, manufacturing, technology, branding, logistics and trade.
“Ukulima wa ng’ombe ni pesa. Na nyama siyo tu chakula. Pia ni pesa. Nyama ni chakula, na nyama ni pesa,” Kagwe said.
He argued that young people can create businesses and employment by owning more stages of the livestock value chain rather than concentrating solely on keeping animals.
Hides and skins offer another opportunity
Kagwe also highlighted the potential of hides and skins, saying proper animal handling is important in determining the quality and value of livestock by-products.
Improving the handling of hides and skins could support Kenya’s leather industry while creating additional revenue streams for livestock producers and businesses.
The CS said value addition should therefore extend beyond meat to other products generated throughout the livestock value chain.
Kenya targets premium export markets
Kagwe identified international markets, including Algeria, as potential destinations for Kenyan livestock products.
He recalled Algeria’s previous indication of demand for one million goats during Ramadan, describing such markets as an opportunity for Kenyan producers and exporters.
“We want new markets. We want new enterprises. We want new jobs. We want new opportunities for livestock producers,” he said.
He challenged the Kenya Meat Expo to help connect producers with consumers, livestock with manufacturing, rural Kenya with international markets and today’s livestock sector with the meat industry of the future.
From livestock production to global meat brand
Kagwe said Kenya already possesses many of the ingredients required to build a competitive meat industry, including livestock resources, producers, entrepreneurs, technology, markets and a policy framework.
What is now required, he said, is scale, coordination, investment and execution.
The CS challenged Kenya to move beyond being primarily a producer and consumer of meat and become a country that produces, processes, brands and exports world-class meat and meat products.
He said Kenyan meat should ultimately become associated with quality, safety, traceability, sustainability and competitiveness.
“Let us ensure that the farmer is never, ever left behind,” Kagwe said.
The transformation, he added, should ensure that livestock resources generate greater economic value through jobs, investment, businesses, exports and improved incomes for farmers and pastoralists.
Kagwe was accompanied by Portugal’s Ambassador to Kenya Paulo Neves Pocinho, a representative of the Algerian Embassy, Garissa Governor Nathif J. Adam, Nation Media Group CEO Geoffrey Odundo and other officials.
