1. INTRODUCTION

1. GARISSA LIVESTOCK MARKET – A TREASURE FOR MEETING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) IN A PASTORAL BASED MILLENNIUM MUNICIPALITY By Abdi Gedi1, Omar Salah1, Ndambo Charles1, Ahmed M. Mohamed2*,Abdi M. Ali3, Kabaka W4 and Ahmed M. Farah5 1 Municipal Council of Garrisa, Box 563, Garissa 2* Millennium Villages Project – Dertu, Box 958, Garissa. Corresponding author: maalimm4@yahoo.com 3 District Livestock Production Officer, Garissa 4 District Veterinary Officer, Garissa 5 Drought Management Officer, Arid Lands Resource Management Project, Garissa A presentation to the participants of a COMESA Workshop on Exposure to Pastoral Livelihoods held 22nd – 26th September 2008 at Nomad Palace Hotel, Garissa, Kenya

2. 1. INTRODUCTION • Garissa is a proposed Millennium City and is the headquarter of Garissa Millennium District and the proposed North Eastern Millennium Province • It is a cosmopolitan town with an estimated population of 250,000 mainly pastoral fallouts • The market is located within the Garissa Municipality and is the largest and most important cattle market in Southern “Somali Cluster” and the biggest livestock market in East and Central Africa • Its market catchments include Southern & Central Somalia, Somali Region of Ethiopia, North Eastern Province, Isiolo District • It is both a terminal market and transit market for Nairobi, Athi River, Mombasa and other major towns • Before 1989, an average of 100 animals per day were sold but today 1,500 - 3,000 heads of cattle sold every Wednesday (cattle market/auction day) (Table 1). • Currently the average price of cattle, camel and shoats are Kshs. 10,000, Kshs. 15,000 and Kshs. 1,500 per head respectively.

3. Table 1 Livestock sales in Garissa (1989 – 2007) Source: DVO - Garissa, DLPO - Garissa, ARLMP – Garissa, Little (2005)

4. Other business including hawking of goods are also executed concurrently • The market was started by the Government with support from FAO in 1987 but took off in 1989 after the current Municipality became Town Council. Area is approx 8.5 ha. • Benefits of the market – It is heart of all development in Garissa and major livelihood: employment, income for herders & business persons + other players, cess for councils • The peak of the trade is just after rains when water and pasture along the stock routes are in plenty (January – May) and lowest in dry months (August - October) • Managed by the Garissa Municipality who maintain the various facilities using the cess collected

5. 2. SERVICES OFFERED BY THE MUNICIPALITY AND PARTNERS • Veterinary services – disease surveillance, movement permit, branding, data collection and other extension services e.g. treatment • Safe disposal of carcasses • Provision of water – troughs and taps • Support the provision of fodder, pods and hay • Support the provision of food through an estimated 50 women run kiosks • Sanitation services using eight ventilated improved pits (VIP), cleaning the market • Provision of security (police patrol) during the market day. Compound also fenced with two main gates • Support livestock marketing association – shade, loading rump, cattle crush

6. 3. MEANS OF TRANSPORT AND COMMON LIVESTOCK TRADING COSTS • Trekking is most preferred transport to the market while trucking is most preferred transport to other terminal markets (except for camels, fewer other animals) • Brokers sell and source animals at an agreed price (Kshs. 20 for shoats, Kshs.100 for cattle) • A trader incurs the livestock trading costs: storage, transport costs for trekking and trucking animals, market cess, loading and offloading costs. Major cost – transportation to Nairobi (Kshs.20,000 – 25,000) for 10 tons truck

7. 4. CHALLENGES • Periodic market disruption due to outbreak of contagious diseases – Rift Valley Fever – RVF (2007), Rinderpest (2003), post election violence (Dec 07 to March 08) • Municipality has no veterinary expert of its own • Encroachment into market facility and livestock route corridors • Uncoordinated activities of brokers, traders and groups causing conflict • Evasion of cess – though sold an owner will say “the animal has not been sold and we are taking it back home” just to evade cess • Pollution from dung and dust to market operators • Inadequate space for expansion • Insecurity along the stock routes and cross border conflicts • One weekly market day is not enough to reduce congestion • Traders carry large sums of money to market because there is no banking services at the facility

8. 4. CHALLENGES • Overcrowding of unsold animals around Garissa town in the hope of returning the animals for future market days has caused overgrazing, environmental degradation and conflict over pasture between locals and outsiders • Municipality has data and information gap – all data sourced from the Municipal facility is kept by District Veterinary Office, bill boards rarely updated and there is no centralized information exchange between traders and market • Inappropriate policies e.g. animals cannot be truck transported at night to terminal markets.

9. 5. IMPACTS OF MARKET DISRUPTION • Unemployment and increase in poverty to cattle owners, traders, Municipal, County Council, cattle brokers, truck brokers, water and food sellers, herders, trekkers, transporters, loaders, wholesalers, food store owners, and turn boys • Lack of school fees, costs of health & livelihoods disrupted • Loss of revenue for the municipality and the county council • Increased expenses to traders who detain animals in anticipation of market revitalization • Price increases at terminal markets. • Increase in malnutrition especially the vulnerable (children, women) whose bread winners depend solely on the market • Insecurity – conflict between local community and outsiders who are unable to sale their stock and therefore freely graze around Garissa town causing overgrazing, degradation • Overcrowding of livestock causes spread of endemic diseases • Poor pastoral coping strategy to recurrent drought due poverty

10. 6. WAY FORWARD • Market should never be closed – instead create disease free and quarantine zones along the border • Intensification of disease surveillance and appropriate early systems throughout the catchments be put in place • Intensification of vaccination against contagious diseases and regular renewal of the vaccinations (whenever necessary) • Market facility development and maintenance – veterinary store, gender friendly toilets, perimeter wall, modernize food kiosks, bank services • Develop the stock trekking routes to include watering points and promote hay baling/standing hay • Reduction in lorry transport costs (e.g. diesel, better roads) to terminal markets especially Mombasa means increased incomes for the pastoralists. • Improve other infrastructure – ICT along stock routes • Develop and promote cottage industries to process livestock products • Develop appropriate policies for sales especially for brokers • Capacity build the Municipality as entry point to urban poor, to lobby for appropriates market policies and help institutionalize traders and other facility users + maintain high quality livestock market • Promotion of the market locally and internationally - more sensitization and awareness creation to pastoralists, partners.