Tsavo East Conservancy uses agri-business to strengthen the community and landscape

TTWCA's CEO, Alfred Mwanake, notes, 'Our community is passionate about livestock. We are enhancing their resilience and profitability by adopting fewer, hardier, and faster-maturing breeds, doubling their market value in half the time.' Previously, the community reared zebu cattle, which matured slowly and were prone to climate risks, yielding minimal profits.

Now, the conservancy has scaled down to 300 heads of Sahiwal and Borana cattle, aiming to eventually expand to between 500 and 1,000. These breeds are drought-resistant and less dependent on unpredictable weather patterns. Managed grazing allows breeding cows to roam freely but confines them at night to wildlife-proof enclosures to facilitate land recovery. In contrast, steers are kept in a fenced area and nourished on premium fodder produced locally, achieving optimal growth rates and fetching higher market prices directly.

'The people here are passionate about livestock and ranching,' Mwanake says. 'By keeping fewer, climate-resilient breeds that are better fed, mature within three years, and are less dependent on the vagaries of weather, stock can fetch over Ksh70,000 (US$539) each at the market-double returns in half the time.'