• The Honorable Governor Yatani;
• The Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr. Willy Bett;
• The Principle Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr. Andrew K. Tuimur
• County Commissioner Mr. Magu Mutindika; (TBC)
• The Honorable Member of Parliament, Moyale Constituency, Roba Duba;
• Dr. James Dokhe, Marsabit County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries;
• Distinguished guests;
• Ladies and gentleman;

I am truly honored to join the Governor and the Cabinet Secretary this morning for the opening of Moyale Livestock Market.

A significant challenge to the stability and economic development of the communities living at the border areas of Kenya and Ethiopia is the lack of an adequate marketing infrastructure. An inadequate infrastructure increases the community’s vulnerability to drought by limiting access to markets and basic services and deters the investments needed to expand and diversify the economy.

To address this issue, USAID supports Marsabit County and other Arid and Semi-Arid Lands, through the Feed the Future program. We aim to improve resilience and economic growth with all partners working together toward a common goal. With this support, we complement development efforts of the Government of Kenya to eradicate poverty not only in Marsabit but also in the entire country.

With our partners, we hope to increase the number of families that can stand on their own in times of drought, without seeking humanitarian assistance. And we hope to improve the nutritional status of women and children.

One of the most important ways we can do this is to ensure that Marsabit County has a strong market infrastructure for trading livestock. USAID has invested 50 million Kenya shillings in the construction of this market through the REGAL-AG project, which works to accelerate economic growth in pastoralist communities. This contribution represents part of a 35 billion Kenyan shilling investment aimed at building the resilience of communities in the arid lands of Kenya.

Once fully operational, the market will provide more than 14,000 people with opportunities to buy and sell livestock and other goods and services. The modernization of this market will reduce losses of livestock during drought and increase incomes for pastoralists through trading of livestock.

Livestock trade provides incomes for herders, traders, middlemen, transporters and the county governments in the arid lands. Better markets will also attract more businesses in the county, and provide producers in the market with quality animal drugs, food stuff, clothing and access to financial services. Well-functioning markets also provide alternative sources of incomes for households.

In addition to Moyale’s livestock market, USAID has supported development of 11 other markets in Isiolo and Marsabit, forming a network of economic hubs for pastoralists and the youth in these counties. The growing population of youth will no longer need to look for employment outside these counties; they will have opportunities to generate jobs through these economic hubs. In the two modern markets that were opened in Marsabit and Isiolo counties last October, we have seen livestock sales double.

Another important contributor to strengthening resilience of households in Marsabit is access to water and sanitation. USAID aims to provide drinking water for households and livestock as well sanitation and hygiene services to benefit 450,000 people through a new program we recently launched called the Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development (or KENYA-RAPID), a 3.6 billion Kenya shilling activity with Millennium Water Alliance.

We implement this activity in 5 arid counties—Turkana, Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir and Garissa—of Northern Kenya. A hundred thousand Kenyans will also benefit from multiple use services and targeted nutrition education. The result will be healthier and more prosperous communities across the five counties.

Strong county leadership is also needed to ensure the health and economic well-being of the people in Marsabit. We appreciate the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries for providing sound national livestock policies. Together, USAID and the Governor have partnered to support local implementation of these national policies to ensure that the livestock producers and traders in Moyale can benefit from policies and laws that will support a modern market like this one.

Finally, but most importantly, markets and communities operate best in stable and peaceful environments. To ensure this, we are proud to be partner with the community, county and regional institutions to reduce cross-border conflict.

Recently, on the July 9th, I understand that there was a meeting of all clans that declared peace in this market. We highly commend the communities in Moyale and the Governor for their leadership in making this a reality.

When all communities co-exist peacefully, business in this market will increase, the network will increase among different tribes, and more opportunities will be created for the youth.

Thank you.