CONTEXT
Livestock: one of the main pillars of rural African economies
In macroeconomic terms, the meat, milk, eggs, animal traction, and manure derived from livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) were valued in 1994 at nearly USD 18.5 billion and accounted for 27 percent of total agricultural GDP (Winrock International, 1995). In terms of employment and poverty, livestock is an important source of income for an estimated 160 million poor inhabitants of rural and peri-urban areas, i.e., 62 percent of all of the rural poor, or 27 percent of the total population of SSA. From the often-overlooked nutritional standpoint, livestock products provide most of the constituents (i.e., amino acids) of human tissues, as well as trace elements and vitamins that boost the effectiveness of plant proteins, thereby enhancing the growth and health of young children and other vulnerable groups. In Kenya, for example, studies have shown that the consumption of animal protein, even in very small amounts, significantly improves the growth of children and the cognitive development of infants and toddlers (Neumann, 1999).
In terms of finance, livestock is also an important vehicle for savings in an environment where the banking sector is notoriously unreliable.
Finally, it is an important means of improving the productivity of arable land, since it provides animal traction and manure.
In many cases, livestock provides a way for the rural and peri-urban poor to break the cycle of poverty.
Perspectives
While certain production systems, particularly in the arid zones, have reached the limits of their production growth potential, there are still opportunities in the sector in many other zones, and especially within polycultural systems in regions with heavy rainfall, and in high altitude zones. The two latter zones are home to 55 percent of poor herders and offer excellent prospects for enhanced production and profitability.
This potential is confirmed by CIRAD projections indicating that SSA possesses the land and water resources required to produce 12.4 million metric tons of meat and 27.2 million metric tons of milk (i.e., 90 percent and 40 percent, respectively, in excess of current production).
In addition, profitable market outlets exist. Even projections as cautious as those of IFPRI indicate that, by 2020, demand for meat and milk will reach 12.8 million and 34.1 million metric tons, respectively, compared to current production of 6.7 million metric tons of meat and 17 million metric tons of milk.
Recent trends
Over the past four decades, however, growth in the SSA’s livestock sector has been poor. Average annual production has increased by only 2 percent, compared to growth rates of over 7 percent in China, 4.7 percent in South-East Asia, 3.2 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 3 percent in Latin America. The pace of production increases in SSA lagged behind population growth over the 1961-2000 period, making SSA the only region in the world to experience a decline in per capita production over that period.
There are many reasons for this poor performance in SSA. The region has not had East Asia’s booming internal market, nor has it had the market outlets for its exports that Latin America has enjoyed. As indicated below, SSA has often pursued trade development policies and subsidies that have not been conducive to livestock, while this has not been true in such regions as South-East Asia and East Asia. Institutions are weaker in SSA than in other regions, and SSA is definitely more vulnerable to animal diseases than any other region of the world. In the above-mentioned zones of very high potential, however, considerable experience has been gained in livestock development, particularly in terms of small-scale dairy and poultry production, and the outlook for successful livestock development has improved considerably.
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