Addis ababa: Africa must unlock its vast and largely untapped livestock potential to strengthen food and nutrition security and accelerate inclusive economic growth, experts told ENA. For millions of Africans, livestock is more than a source of food or income. It is the foundation of livelihoods, particularly for pastoral communities. Yet experts say the sector remains far below its potential and could become a powerful engine of economic transformation if supported by stronger investment, market access, infrastructure, and policy coordination.According to Ethiopian News Agency, Andrew Edewa, TradeMark Africa Director of Standards, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Food Systems, emphasized that livestock already sustains millions of pastoral communities and could be transformed from a traditional livelihood activity into a major driver of economic development. Edewa highlighted the importance of expanding livestock trade within Africa and with international markets to increase export earnings, generat e new income, and stimulate broader economic growth across the continent.Edewa underlined that the sector's significance extends beyond economic growth, playing a critical role in addressing Africa's nutrition challenges, particularly among children and other vulnerable groups. Milk, meat, and other animal-source foods provide affordable, high-quality protein and essential nutrients needed for healthy growth and development.Despite its enormous potential, many observers noted that Africa's livestock sector continues to face structural challenges, including fragmented production systems, weak coordination among stakeholders, inadequate market connectivity, and limited investment in infrastructure and quality systems. Edewa mentioned that TradeMark Africa is collaborating with stakeholders to connect livestock producers with domestic, regional, and international markets while strengthening policy frameworks and quality standards.Commenting on Ethiopia's Bounty of the Basket (Ye Lemat Tirufat) initiative, Edewa commended the program for promoting value-chain development across the livestock sector. The initiative is creating opportunities across a broad range of activities, including live-animal trade, dairy production, meat processing, animal-feed manufacturing, and other livestock-based industries.Senbeto Funte, Regional Livestock Program Deputy Director at Mercy Corps for Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, also stressed the need to ensure that nutritious livestock products are accessible, available, and affordable to consumers. Improving production efficiency, he added, would increase supply, reduce prices, and allow more children and mothers to access nutritious foods.Senbeto highlighted that livestock already makes a significant contribution to agricultural GDP in many African countries and that improving the sector's efficiency could further enhance its contribution to economic development. He called for stronger government support, increased private-sector participation, and improved access to finance to fully harness the potential of the livestock sector.The experts emphasized the need for coordinated government policies, targeted incentives, and increased private investment to transform Africa's livestock sector. They cited Ethiopia's Bounty of the Basket initiative as an example of targeted government intervention aimed at increasing the production of dairy, poultry, eggs, honey, fish, and meat while improving food and nutrition security.The experts asserted that Africa must move beyond viewing livestock solely as a traditional livelihood activity and instead recognize it as a strategic economic sector capable of driving food security, better nutrition, trade, employment, and inclusive economic growth. With the right investments, policies, and market systems, Africa's livestock wealth could become one of the continent's most important untapped engines of economic transformation, they hoped.
Friday, July 24, 2026