Digitising will rewrite economics of Ksh1.9 trillion livestock sector

Kenya's livestock industry, worth an estimated Ksh1.9 trillion, has long operated in a paradox: millions de- pend on it, yet the system itself re- mains largely informal, opaque and vulnerable to exploitation. As the country leans toward digital agriculture, a new platform, Live- StockEx, is positioning itself as the first attempt to drag livestock markets into the data age.

Behind the hype lies a bigger question: Can digitising trade actually fix the structural failures that have defined pastoral economies for decades? More than 5 million households from pastoralist communities in the north to small dairy farmers in central Kenya depend on livestock. Yet the sector loses billions annually through middlemen, erratic pricing, absence of traceability, and the high cost of moving animals across counties. In many arid counties, farmers

routinely trek animals for days to markets where prices fluctuate wildly. Veterinarians, meanwhile, operate without stable income streams. Buyers struggle with theft, fake ownership claims, and inconsistent supply.

It is this long-standing dysfunction that makes the arrival of LiveStockEx significant, not simply as a new app, but as a test case for whether digital systems can reorder power relations in livestock trade. According to Murray Roos the platform is part of a larger shift in Kenya's agricultural policy ambitions. "As Kenya pushes for digital agriculture and opening new markets for livestock trade, LiveStockEx offers a model that will transform farmer livelihoods. We're reimagining how livestock is valued, verified, and moved profitably and sustainably," he said.

The platform allows farmers to upload animals for sale, have them verified by vets, and negotiate directly with buyers cutting out brokers who traditionally take up to 20-30 per cent of the final value. For buyers, it promises traceability and

guaranteed veterinary checks. For transporters and vets, it offers a new stream of digital gig work. A livestock buyer who tested the system noted that the disruption is overdue. But experts say the implications of digitising a sector this large go far beyond convenience. One key shift is data visibility for the first time, Kenya could gain real-time data on livestock numbers, disease outbreaks, movement patterns, and market pricing. Such data has long been missing, often leaving pastoral counties economically invisible despite contributing hugely to national GDP.

Another point of tension is whether digital platforms can coexist with the deeply social nature of livestock markets. In regions like Garissa, Kajiado, and Narok, livestock trade relies on reputation, clan networks, and negotiated trust structures that cannot be coded easily. Digital systems risk excluding farmers without smartphones, women who traditionally face barriers accessing mobile finance, or pastoralists in areas with weak network coverage.