NAIROBI, Kenya: July 20 (Xinhua) — The Global Alliance of Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) plans to partner with various stakeholders to help change the livestock sector in Africa that has been on the verge of collapse.
Analysts say that despite the big number of livestock keepers in the continent, farmers have been making losses.
“Livestock are fundamental to Africa’s agricultural development, but the sector suffers from a number of problems, including underperformance, a lack of investment and a lack of a focused approach,” Dr. Hameed Nuru, GALVmed’s Senior Director, Policy & External Affairs said on Friday at the end of a 3-day livestock meeting in Nairobi.
Currently, about 160 million poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa keep livestock, with 10 percent of the population primarily dependent on livestock, and 58 percent partially dependent on livestock for their livelihoods.
The strategy by the organisation has identified animal health, African livestock trade, ruminant nutrition, rural veterinary services and contract farming as areas where they see the growth in the sector.
The investment in the industry will henceforth be done differently by supporting entrepreneurship and technology usage in the industry. There is also a need to look beyond the livestock sector itself, to see what pressures from external influences are impacting on livestock potential.
“Through better collaboration between all sectors, livestock productivity can be improved significantly to the benefit of the farmer,” Nuru said.
GALVmed believes that given the economic link between livestock and poverty alleviation, there is need to rethink the way livestock production is measured and analysed to help lift the poor out of poverty.
The economic facts around livestock in sub-Saharan Africa show that it plays a significant role and fundamental part of the complex factors behind the economic wellbeing for potential poor people and country economies besides providing food to the people.
“With good management the sub sector can contribute to economic stability and cannot therefore be approached in an unfocussed, disjointed or non-inclusive way,” added Nuru.
Given the bleak prospects for the future of sub-Saharan Africa in the next 30-50 years where livestock are a critical part of economic base of many communities, to treat it in an unfocussed, disjointed or non-inclusive way is unacceptable and economically non-viable as it leaves a key development input to chance.
Given the current status, that puts Africa’s livestock development at crossroads the countries and all stakeholders must act now to save the situation.In Africa, agriculture is a proven driver of poverty reduction given that it is the single most economic income that sustains development in the continent.
At current rates, it is estimated that Africa will be unable to adequately feed half of its population by 2015.
Experts warn that despite farmers working harder and more people taking up farming, productivity appears not to have increased. (Xinhua)
