Across the African continent, livestock play an indispensable role in both food security and economic development. With an estimated 400 million cattle and a contribution of 30-40% to agricultural GDP, the livestock sector is a cornerstone of rural life. For millions of people, consuming modest amounts of animal-sourced foods like meat, milk and eggs can make a life-altering difference in fighting malnutrition. Livestock also serve as a vital source of reliable income in areas where other opportunities are scarce.
However, the environmental impact of livestock is often viewed solely through a lens of harm, with animals blamed for habitat destruction, greenhouse gas emissions, and degradation of land. This oversimplified perspective fails to capture the complex realities on the ground and has led to chronic underinvestment in the sector. As global leaders convene for key meetings on biodiversity, climate change, and desertification, it is crucial that these misconceptions about livestock are confronted head-on.
In the pursuit of sustainable development, animals like cattle, goats, camels and pigs must be recognized for their potential as “walking solutions” to the escalating crises facing our planet. This is especially true in countries like Kenya, where livestock are intricately woven into local livelihoods and cultural identities. The global community needs to view livestock through this lens and direct climate and conservation finance toward unlocking their capacity to create positive change.
Indeed, with proper management, livestock can be a powerful force for protecting and restoring biodiversity. Well-planned grazing helps maintain healthy ecosystems, keeps invasive species in check, and allows diverse native plants to regenerate in degraded areas. Pastoralist groups like the Maasai and Samburu have a deep traditional understanding of using livestock to bring balance to the land while also generating income and producing nearly a fifth of Kenya’s milk supply. Many wildlife conservancies are now deliberately integrating cattle grazing into their strategies, using rotational patterns that mimic those of wild herbivores to prevent overgrazing and support vibrant grasslands that sustain both livestock and native species.
In terms of climate action, discussions around livestock tend to fixate narrowly on their methane emissions, especially from ruminants like cattle. But the sector’s potential climate contributions are far more expansive, particularly in Africa. Improved rangeland management techniques and climate-smart feeding practices can meaningfully cut livestock-related emissions. Grazing systems that incorporate specially adapted forages, for example, can boost both productivity and environmental outcomes.
Furthermore, sustainable grazing methods can dramatically decrease the emissions intensity of meat and dairy production by turning rangelands into powerful carbon sinks. Grasslands have immense capacity to store carbon in their soils when managed effectively, potentially delivering nearly 21 gigatons of climate mitigation by midcentury. Livestock are also a key tool for climate adaptation, with herders strategically moving animals in response to shifting rainfall to carefully manage scarce resources while preventing overgrazing. Coupling this nomadic approach with indigenous breeds that are well-adapted to harsh environments provides a crucial buffer against droughts and other climate shocks.
