The Livestock Development Strategy for Africa
The side event showcased contributions by projects under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish and their local partners in four East and Southern Africa countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Swaziland) to the LiDESA objectives, which include:
- Attracting public and private investments along the different livestock values chains
- Enhancing animal health and increasing the production, productivity and resilience of livestock systems
- Enhancing innovation, generation and utilization of technologies, capacities and entrepreneurship skills of livestock value chain actors
- Enhancing access to livestock markets, services and value addition
By 2050, milk consumption is likely to triple in East Africa, while consumption of monogastric foods (pork, poultry meat and eggs) will increase at least four-fold. Replacing Africa’s current 90% of locally produced livestock commodities with imports from outside Africa is unfeasible and unaffordable. Among the challenges facing Africa’s livestock sector are deficiencies of one kind or another in the following areas:
- livestock breeds, productivity, health systems, disease control
- land, feed and water resources and measures to reduce environmental harm
- input supplies and service delivery for animal agriculture
- livestock value addition
- livestock market information and market infrastructure
- competitiveness of African livestock products
- meeting sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards
- policy, legislative and institutional frameworks impinging on the livestock sector
- capacity in livestock research and development
A wrap-up session summarized the following key gaps and opportunities.
- Partnerships are key to achieve our goals and have impact on the ground. National partners should be involved in strategic aspects of projects and programs right from the inception phase so that they are part and parcel of the strategic agenda rather than looped in only at the implementation phases of the work, as is currently common.
- Science alone is not enough to bring about the transformational change we envisage. We need to strengthen country systems, particularly implementation by line ministries.
- Livestock research should also address the environmental footprints associated with livestock production, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
- Research on regional livestock trade issues, which are often ignored, should be strengthened because these aspects are important in resolving non-tariff barriers that hinder regional and cross-border trade.
- LiDESA set up a platform for stakeholders from the 54 member states
- FARA backstop the platform as a key science partner and work with the platform to make a case for larger investments in the livestock sector
- FARA strengthen its livestock agenda and raise the visibility of this agenda within FARA-organized events
- The relevance of livestock research be validated to ensure it is driven by the needs of target communities and their objectives.
- Engaging with partners in R4D to enhance animal health in smallholder pig value chain in Uganda
- Small ruminant value chain development in Ethiopia
- Piloting innovation and market linkages to transform smallholder dairy value chains in Tanzania
- Community-based breeding programs: Attractive and innovative approach to changing the lives of smallholders in low input systems
Background
The Livestock Development Strategy for Africa (LiDESA) has the the goal ‘to transform the African livestock sector for enhanced contribution to socio-economic development and equitable growth’.
Five continental agencies that can help meet the LiDESA objectives are AU-IBAR, which is championing the LiDESA strategy in line with its role to support and coordinate livestock use; the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), which is responsible for coordinating and advocating agricultural research-for-development; and three CGIAR centres—ILRI, which works for better lives through livestock; the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), which promotes sustainable livestock development in the dry areas; and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which works to improve tropical forages for better livestock feeding.
Five continental agencies that can help meet the LiDESA objectives are AU-IBAR, which is championing the LiDESA strategy in line with its role to support and coordinate livestock use; the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), which is responsible for coordinating and advocating agricultural research-for-development; and three CGIAR centres—ILRI, which works for better lives through livestock; the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), which promotes sustainable livestock development in the dry areas; and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which works to improve tropical forages for better livestock feeding.
The Vital Role of Adapted and Resilient Pastoral Systems
The main objective of the workshop was to understand the mechanism for assessing and predicting risks, monitoring and early warning in pastoralists’ regions. The workshop provided the opportunity for the creation of platform for exchanges, dialogues and cooperation among African pastoralist organizations and networks which would facilitate the management, sharing and dissemination of knowledge and best practices of pastoralism.
Delivering the opening remarks on the behalf of AUC, Dr Ahmed ELMEKASS, underlined the importance of pastoralism despite the vulnerability of pastoralists and hence the need for promotion of sustainable pastoralism to take the place it deserves in the debate on development of natural resource management strategies.
“Some of the critical elements necessary to strengthen the capacity of pastoralists include livestock development, policy and governance, gender balanced development, equitable resource tenure, access to social services in addition to efficient resource use”. Mr. Djibo Bagna, Head of Board of the network of peasant organizations and producers in West Africa (ROPPA)After three days of intensive sessions, strong recommendations have been formulated to key targets. The role of the African Union Commission in addressing the plight of pastoralists through the preparation of the Policy Framework for Pastoralism was acknowledged. Also African governments were called on to support the implementation of the Policy Framework by committing adequate resources as well as developing suitable policies and laws to enhance cross border livestock mobility that would go a long way to boost food security and nutrition.
As key messages, the workshop noted the need for concerted actions aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change including technical preventive measures and aspects of socio-economic interventions to ease the vulnerability of populations inhabiting arid and semi-arid zones to ensure resilience and adaptation to drought conditions and pastoral systems in Africa.
Delegates noted pastoralism as a business that is a continuum along the demand and supply value chains that would benefit from investment in public infrastructure and provision of basic services to the pastoral communities. Delegates underscored the need for a robust advocacy campaign with solid and scientific evidence, capacity building, favorable policies, structured investments and technological innovations to make pastoralism an attractive venture for women and youth as well as for financial support through credits. The workshop recognized the sensitive land tenure systems within Member States which affect transformation towards sustainable pastoralism in arid and semi-arid zones.
A key recommendation of the workshop was that AUC, in collaboration with RECs, should provide the needed support to cascade the AUC policy framework on Pastoralism in Africa in the New Generation of Regional Agriculture Investment Plans (RAIPs)/National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) under theComprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
The AfDB strategy for Africa’s agricultural transformation
22 May 2016. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank
Focusing on transformation, scaling up agriculture as a business through value addition, led by the private sector and enabled by the public sector, and using innovative financing mechanisms, the strategy aims to end hunger and rural poverty in Africa in the next decade.
It is the second of the Bank’s High 5 priorities – Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa – a blueprint for the implementation of its Ten Year Strategy 2013-2022.
Realizing the objectives of the strategy would involve increased productivity; value addition; investment in infrastructure; creating an enabling agribusiness environment; catalyzing capital flows; ensuring inclusivity, sustainability and effective nutrition; all in a coordinated manner.
- The idea is to drive transformation through 15 priority commodity value chains in given agro-ecological zones specifically to achieve self-sufficiency in key commodities such as rice, wheat, fish, palm oil, horticulture, cassava; move up the value chain in key export-oriented commodities like cocoa, coffee, cotton, cashew; create a food-secure Sahel in sorghum, millet, livestock; and realize the potential of the Guinea savannah in maize, soybean and livestock.
- The Feed Africa Strategy makes a strong case for reversing the situation of a continent that spends US $35.4 billion on food imports annually despite being home to 65% of the world’s undeveloped arable land.
- The total investment for the realization of the transformation agenda over 10 years is estimated at US $315-400 billion with annual returns of US $85 billion, when fully funded.
- The Bank will itself invest US $24 billion and leverage additional investments through equity, quasi equity, debt and risk instruments to catalyze investments at scale from the private sector and with co-financing from traditional donors and new players.
- The identified financing gap estimated at US $23 billion can be met using innovative de-risking tools and blended financing from combined sovereign, pension and private equity funds.
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Farming for the future of Friends of the Earth
This report was written by Christopher D. Cook, Kari Hamerschlag, Friends of the Earth U.S. and Kendra Klein, Friends of the Earth U.S
2016, 23 pages
- Read the full report
- Read the executive summary
Rather than producing more food under unequal and ecologically destructive conditions, the solution to hunger hinges on creating a more sustainable, democratic and fair food system for all.
Despite the many proven benefits of ecological farming, there is a massive disparity in research funding for organic in comparison to conventional agriculture. Of the $49 billion invested globally in agricultural research, less than one percent goes to organic farming.164 In the U.S., less than two percent of public agricultural research funding goes to organic and biologically diversified farming.165,166 Agroecological farming approaches have achieved high levels of environmental performance and productivity despite minimal funding. Increased research could improve yields and environmental gains beyond already proven success. (page 17)
Presentations
Learn from top scientists and thought leaders on the science of sustainable food production and a comprehensive approach to creating a healthy, resilient food system to feed all people, now and into the future.- Kendra Klein, PhD, Staff Scientist, Friends of the Earth Can Organic Feed the World
- Frances Moore Lappe, Cofounder & Director, Small Planet Institute The Art of Creating Scarcity From Plenty
- Lauren Ponisio, PhD, UC Riverside How do Yields from Organic and Conventional Farming Systems Compare?
- John Reganold, PhD, Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology, Washington State University Beyond Yield: The Multiple Benefits of Organic Agriculture
- Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, PhD, Senior Scientist, Pesticide Action Network
- Agroecology Works: Towards Resilient Food and Farming Systems
