A Path to Prosperity New Directions for African Livestock

Understanding the priorities of different actors in
the value chain is important if effective marketing
and trade policy is to be developed. It was observed
that the priorities of farmers commonly differ to
those of the veterinary service providers.
The use of new technologies particularly mobile
phones was advocated.
Finally, the idea that contract farming as a key
means to improve the profitability and production
of small farmers was supported, however the key
bottle necks to scaling up contract farming in Sub
Saharan Africa do need to be better understood.
Again many thanks to you for your attention and your
contributions
All the best
Tim Leyland on behalf of the GALVmed Team
A
Chris Daborn suggested that given Africa’s large
and expanding trade deficit in livestock products
it can be argued that both Intensive and Extensive
Systems of livestock production are being
underserved, most crucially in the field of veterinary
services. Initiatives are urgently required to enhance
the quality, impact and sustainability of veterinary
services delivered by effective public / private /
community partnerships. This will require an action
plan that combines targeted donor funding with
available internal resources to mobilize broad
ranging and holistic approaches. The following
suggests some interventions that merit
consideration within such a plan:
Revenue Support: Government to allocate a %
of the revenue collected from the livestock sector,
eg veterinary fees / livestock marketing / livestock
export, for the direct financing of the veterinary
services in underserved areas
Budget Support: Concerned Ministries through to
Local Authorities to make provision in their
development and recurrent budgets to support the
veterinary services in underserved areas
State VS: The Government VS should create an
enabling environment for Public / Private /
Community partnerships in underserved areas
eg by issuing sanitary mandates and enacting
inclusive, partnership friendly legal frameworks
Private Sector VS: Contracts need to be extended to
private sector veterinarians to deliver services in
underserved areas. The contracts should stipulate
that veterinary para-professionals may be employed
but only under proper professional supervision with
regular training in procedures appropriate to the
given production system
Research Activity: Applied livestock field research
should be revitalized and resourced to utilise and
facilitate veterinary personnel in underserved areas
to act as field agents collecting information/taking
samples
Drug Companies: There are mutually beneficial
arrangements that can be developed between drug
companies and veterinary para-professionals with
professional direction in underserved areas,
inclusive of drug efficacy proving trials, drug
promotions and marketing.
Donor/Int Agencies: For as long as donor and
international agencies are to play a role in capacity
building and other forms of assistance for livestock
development they must remain faithful to and
supportive of poverty reduction measures for
livestock keepers in underserved areas . The nature
of this support will logically change / develop over
time but their financial input into the system will for
some time to come remain an important if not
essential requirement. One element that will remain
constant is the need to support capacity building
and continuing professional development.
Animal Welfare Organisations: Veterinary
para-professionals, with appropriate professional
direction, can perform valuable functions as front
line agents for Animal Welfare Organizations.
The provision of training and equipment in
appropriate primary animal health care and simple
surgical interventions, from which some form of
payment will be received from the livestock owners,
will contribute to the sustainability of the service.
Functioning front-line veterinary personnel can
provide vital livestock surveillance information,
most easily captured by mobile phone.
Veterinary Schools: The curricula followed by
the veterinary faculties / training schools needs
to embrace and teach systems that work in
underserved areas as well as having practical
outreach, inclusive of resources, to ensure students
have immediate and first-hand experience of best
practice systems at work
The Impetus Strategy Paper I Page 84