This Livestock Development Strategy for Africa (LiDeSA) is a 20-year multilateral document developed by the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) to address Africa’s development needs and challenges in the livestock sector. The Strategy is aligned to the ongoing regional strategies, policy frameworks, and guidelines and coherent with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Frameworks, and Agenda. The main goal of the document is to transform the livestock sector by energizing its under-utilized potential through (i) encouraging increased investments from both public and private sources for the transformation of the sector to enhance its contribution to socio-economic development and equitable growth; (ii) accelerating reforms in the sector. To achieve the aforementioned goals, the Strategy sets out the following strategic objectives (i) attract public and private investment along the livestock value chains; (ii) enhance animal health and increase production, productivity and resilience of production systems; (iii) enhance innovation, generation and utilization of technologies, capacities and entrepreneurship skills of value chain actors; (iv) enhance access to market, services and value addition. The promotion of livestock production is one of the key interventions to improve livelihoods condition and reduce poverty in the continent. This will be achieved through the following strategies (i) systems intensification through support, incentives and capacity building; (ii) enhancement of animal health by promoting cooperative work between actors in different sectors, institutions and disciplines, in line with the One Health Approach; (iii) strengthening of veterinary governance, animal health systems and service delivery; (iv) One Health and cross-border/regional coordination mechanisms for harmonization of disease prevention and control approaches; (v) transition from subsistence to market economies by mixed crop-livestock system smallholders; (vi) genetic improvement and access to appropriate, productive and resilient breeds that best match the production systems mediated by innovative research and development, business, and PPP; (vii) inventory, characterization and innovatively utilization of indigenous bio-resources with potential industrial and business application in production systems; (viii) enhancement of availability and use of quality land, feed and water resources; (ix) access to natural resources - pasture and water (including smart water subsidy, use, and management policy frameworks and appropriate partnerships for water harvesting, storage, conservation, and reticulation of underground and surface water) - critical for livestock production; (x) appropriate technologies through extension services (i.e. use of e-extension techniques). The livestock sector gives an essential contribution to food security, nutrition, and poverty reduction, to be achieved without generating harmful effects on the environment and public health. To this end, the Strategy focuses on the promotion of sanitary measures for food safety and the support to advocacy and lobbying among stakeholders to enhance knowledge of and compliance with standards. The main environmental protection measures included in the document are (i) promoting safeguard mechanisms to minimize the impact of negative externalities that could affect both human and environmental well-being; (ii) promoting mainstreaming of climate change and variability planning and the development and adoption of appropriate technologies; (iii) promoting early-warning disaster preparedness and response mechanisms for drought, foods, and others; (iv) promoting innovation, incentives and partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, degradation, and other negative impacts; (v) providing incentives for enhancing livestock ecosystem services including biodiversity services, carbon credits, nutrient recycling and contribution to water recharge systems. An inclusive economic and social growth shall provide the following (i) significant public and private sector investments, including sufficient and appropriate incentives form the private sector (contextually, Governments should create appropriate enabling investment environments thus reducing the cost of conducting business and minimizing risks in the livestock sector); (ii) the adoption of value chain approach; (iii) establishment of policy, regulatory and institutional environments that (a) protect the rights and the capital of the investors, (b) protect investors against unfair competition and reduce the investment costs, (c) ensure easy access to financial services, (d) provide infrastructure, (e) facilitate access to markets, supplies and inputs, and (f) facilitate access and use innovative technologies; (iv) incentives, partnerships, and delivery models for enhanced access to, multiplication and utilization of existing feed technologies; (v) an enabling environment for strengthening and harnessing social protection mechanisms and traditional social safety nets; (vi) support and capacity building to enhance stakeholder organizations (e.g. cooperatives) and coordination. As for Governance, the African Union Commission (AUC) will be in charge of the overall coordination for the implementation of the Strategy and will lead the governance body that will be appointed to oversee the implementation process. The AUC will also be responsible for monitoring implementation and reporting to stakeholders. The implementation of the Strategy will be based on the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity, and comparative advantage taking into account the mandates and the relationships of the different institutions. Transparency and mutual accountability will also be critical and mechanisms will be put in place to ensure that these principles are followed. Emphasis is placed on establishing solid mutually beneficial partnerships among the various stakeholders at national, regional, continental, and international levels.
2015-01-01