Kenya Pushes Digital Livestock Tracking to Unlock Export Markets

The Kenyan government is pushing ahead with a major nationwide programme to tag and digitally register millions of livestock, aiming to transform the country’s traditional herding sector into a competitive, traceable supply chain capable of accessing premium international markets.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe this week led a livestock sensitization and tagging drive in Kurawa, Tana River County, part of a broader rollout that follows the program’s formal launch last week in Nyeri.

Accompanied by local leaders, including Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana and veterinary officials, CS Kagwe urged farmers to embrace the Animal Identification and Traceability (ANITRAC) system to modernize one of the country’s most important economic sectors and meet the stringent traceability demands of global meat buyers across Europe and the Middle East.

The CS described ANITRAC as far more than a tagging exercise. “Every animal will receive a unique digital identity,” he said, enabling comprehensive traceability from pasture to processing plant and ultimately to export destinations.

Kenya possesses one of Africa’s largest livestock populations, estimated at around 77 million head. The sector contributes approximately 12% of national GDP and 40% of agricultural GDP, while providing livelihoods for millions, especially in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) where pastoralism remains central to survival and culture.

Officials stated that ANITRAC will deliver multiple benefits: stronger disease surveillance and rapid response, reduced livestock rustling, improved food safety standards, and greater consumer confidence both at home and abroad.

By professionalizing the sector, the government hopes to raise incomes for farmers and herders who have often been marginalized in global trade, the CS said.

A notable feature of the program is its emphasis on local production. The ear tags and electronic identification chips are being manufactured domestically, supporting local industry and employment.

Officials also pointed to new Kenya Leather Industrial Parks as complementary infrastructure, designed to shift the country away from exporting raw hides and skins toward higher-value processed leather goods.

By linking reliable traceability with local processing capacity, the government believes it can generate more jobs, strengthen domestic supply chains, and capture a larger share of the final value of livestock products.

The nationwide rollout of ANITRAC will continue across all counties in the coming months, with authorities aiming to accelerate registration, bolster veterinary services and lay the foundations for expanded market access.