Beyond smartphones: How citizen volunteers are supporting the drylands livestock market intelligence platform KAZNET in Kenya and Ethiopia

In the drylands of Kenya and Ethiopia, the digital transformation of livestock markets is gathering pace, and contributing to that is a platform named KAZNET. By leveraging the power of citizen volunteers, KAZNET, a digital livestock market intelligence platform, is setting a new standard for how local knowledge, backed by digital technology, can bridge the economic gap in Kenya and Ethiopia’s arid regions. 

At the core of KAZNET's success is more than 130 citizen volunteers, aptly named ‘contributors,’ responsible for inputting key data into the platform and disseminating information to local communities. KAZNET leverages citizen science principles to collect real-time data on market performance, rangeland conditions, and household food security from sentinel sites monitored weekly. This data is summarized in user-friendly dashboards and disseminated to agro-pastoralists to support decision-making at both household and institutional levels. 

KAZNET was developed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with support from USAID and FCDO, and scaled through Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC) project and the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate. 

in Ethiopia, KAZNET is implemented in the regions of Borena, Afder, and East Hararghe zones, where it relies on 80 citizen volunteers to support the system by monitoring 160 transect sites, 19 major livestock markets, and 320 households and provides demand-driven market intelligence. In Kenya, KAZNET works in 5 Counties (Marsabit, Wajir, Samburu, Garissa and Isiolo) where it relies on 52 volunteers to support the system by monitoring 33 transect sits, 14 livestock markets and 120 households.  

KAZNET provides demand-driven market intelligence for livestock keepers in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya and Ethiopia. This platform is now integrated into the government-led Kenya Agricultural Observatory Platform (KAOP) managed by the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Organization (KALRO) to enhance the delivery of real-time livestock market data, supplementing the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS).

Within this network of contributors lies a select group referred to as ‘super contributors,’ who undergo specialized training and have enhanced roles. Acting as the bridge between ILRI and the regular contributors, super contributors play a pivotal role in verifying data and ensuring its accuracy. Over a year ago, Abdiaziz Ibrahim Bulle, was promoted from a regular contributor to a super contributor and under him are 26 contributors.

“As a super contributor, I validate the data entered by others. I ensure that the information entered in the system matches with reality on the ground and I either approve or reject the data based on its quality,” Abdiaziz explains.

“The information we generate helps livestock keepers make informed decisions on when and where to buy or sell their livestock at the best price and where to find suitable grazing areas,” Abdiaziz adds.

The contributors are charged with monitoring four key indicators: 

• Rangelands: Monitoring pasture availability and suitability for grazing.
• Market Prices: Providing detailed data on livestock prices, body condition, and traded volumes.
• Household Conditions: Tracking coping strategies, dietary diversification and the nutrition status of children and primary caregivers.
• Livestock Metrics: Measuring birth and death rates, as well as milk productivity.

Thus, for livestock keepers like Abdiaziz this information is not just data, it’s a lifeline.  Another super contributor, Peter Lesirangongu from Loiyangalani, Marsabit County shares how his role goes beyond just data validation. 

“I help train community members on the KAZNET platform, I help them to download the app and show them how to access information from the system.” 

Apart from the contributors, the other KAZNET strength lies in its demand driven approach. The information it gathers is based on the needs of the community, assessed through surveys, and this changes from time to time and from one location to another. Information from KAZNET further helps in monitoring drought and provides early warnings.

“Our data gathering system attempts to close loopholes from other market information systems. For example, the system is geo-fenced when gathering market information.  As such contributors cannot input market information unless they are physically in the location of the specific market assigned to them, and in addition they are required to backup their input by providing photo evidence,” explains Kelvin Shikuku, ILRI scientist and economist.
 

One noteworthy aspect of KAZNET reach is its effort to include women in the dissemination of information. 

Many community groups targeted by the contributors are women-led, and while smartphone access remains a challenge for some, alternative dissemination methods combining digital innovation via KAZNET with social learning within the pastoralist groups ensure they are not left behind. 

KAZNET information is currently disseminated to about 450 pastoralist groups in Kenya, each comprising 10 members, on average.