RAFFS Project To Cushion Countries Against Impact Of Future Droughts On Animal Feed, Fodder Systems

• Drought in Africa has caused a shortage of feed and fodder, leading to the loss of livestock and wildlife
• The RAFFS project is working to mitigate the effects of the drought and help African countries become more resilient to future droughts
• Project is working to mitigate the effects of drought in Africa by developing new feed and fodder sources and helping farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices

Naivasha - A chronology of events detailing the intensity and impact of drought in triumphant years has painted a grim picture of the future, causing a need for mitigative measures to be adopted and more so to cushion the feed and fodder sector.

The sector is currently facing a crisis because of a widespread shortage of feed and fodder because of the three C’s; climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

African Union- InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources has initiated an ambitious ‘Resilient African Feed and Fodder Systems (RAFFS) project to help targeted African countries overcome the challenge.

Minimal rainfall across the country

RAFFS project officer Sarah Ashanut Ossiya said minimal rainfall caused the recent drought from late 2020 to 2022 and early 2023 in five consecutive seasons.

“It had the unprecedented feature of being the first with five consecutive rainy season failures, a climatic event not seen in 40 years, with massive loss of livestock and wildlife,” Ossiya explained.

By December 2022, government authorities in Kenya said the drought had killed over 200 elephants, nearly 400 zebras and more than 500 wildebeests, among several other species.

In the Horn of Africa region, at least 8.9 million livestock worth over half a billion dollars were lost to the drought. Of those, more than 2 million were in Kenya.

“This outlook augurs a trend that future droughts might be worse,” Ossiya said.

She spoke during a five-day workshop that brought together experts from 6 countries to discuss the current crisis and how nations can overcome- through research-based mitigative measures.

The 2010-2011 drought, she said, claimed at least 250,000 lives.

What is the impact of the crisis?

She pointed out that many families, mostly pastoralists, have lost their livelihoods- with women in the rural areas and informal sector left more vulnerable.

The RAFFs project is designed to mobilize efforts to “bring the desired effect of addressing the immediate shortages. Inform and attract short-term increased investments to forestall future shortages of animal feeds and fodder.”