Why rangelands are central to the economy

For too long, rangelands have been viewed as marginal lands. In reality, they are central to Kenya's economic future, environmental sustainability and food security.

Across the world, rangelands support more than two billion people and sustain some of the planet's most important ecosystems.

In Africa, pastoral livestock systems provide livelihoods for more than 110 million people, while between 40 and 80 per cent of rural households keep livestock. Far from being peripheral, livestock remains one of the continent's greatest economic opportunities.

This importance will only grow. By 2050, demand for meat and milk is projected to rise sharply as populations grow, incomes increase and urbanisation accelerates. The challenge before us is not whether livestock production will expand, but whether we will invest today in systems that make that growth more productive, resilient and sustainable.

In Kenya, that conversation begins in our rangelands.

Covering nearly 80 per cent of the country's landmass, Kenya's rangelands support more than one-third of the population and over 70 per cent of the national livestock herd.

They sustain pastoral livelihoods, conserve biodiversity, protect vital watersheds and support the wildlife that underpins our tourism economy. Yet these landscapes remain among the least understood and least invested in.

Land degradation

Years of climate variability, recurrent drought, land degradation and competing land uses have placed increasing pressure on pastoral production systems. Too often, these pressures are interpreted as evidence that pastoralism is no longer viable. In truth, they demonstrate the consequences of decades of underinvestment in landscapes that have long sustained both people and nature.

Encouragingly, recent experience across the livestock sector has shown what sustained investment can achieve. Strengthened animal health systems have reduced disease risks, improvements in market infrastructure are creating new opportunities for producers, while growing attention to quality, traceability and value addition is helping position Kenyan livestock products more competitively in regional and international markets. These gains remind us that when policy, science, investment and partnerships come together, transformation is possible.

The same commitment is now needed for our rangelands.

This means restoring degraded grazing lands, strengthening community institutions, improving access to water, expanding animal health services, supporting livestock mobility, investing in livestock markets and creating greater opportunities for pastoral communities—particularly women and young people—to participate in growing value chains.

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 provides an important opportunity to move this agenda forward. It invites us to recognise pastoralists not as vulnerable communities on the margins of development, but as skilled land managers, entrepreneurs and custodians of ecosystems that are increasingly important in a changing climate.

Produce healthier livestock

Recognition, however, must be matched by investment.

Healthy rangelands produce healthier livestock. Healthier livestock support stronger livelihoods, greater food security and more competitive agricultural economies. Well-managed rangelands also store carbon, conserve biodiversity and strengthen resilience against climate change—delivering benefits that extend far beyond pastoral communities.

Kenya has demonstrated that strategic investment in livestock systems can generate meaningful results. We now have an opportunity to apply the same long-term thinking to the landscapes on which those systems depend.

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists should therefore be more than a symbolic celebration. It should mark a renewed commitment—from governments, development partners, researchers, the private sector and communities themselves—to place rangelands where they belong: at the centre of our food systems, climate agenda and economic development.

The future of Kenya's livestock sector will be shaped not only by the animals we keep, but by how well we care for the landscapes that sustain them.

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The writer is the Principal Secretary, State Department for Livestock Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.