Study harps on Potential of livestock for food security, poverty reduction in SSA

NaijaAgroNET

A study published recently has revealed the potential of livestock production and its contribution to the continent’s employment and economy especially in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), NaijaAgroNet reports.

The study said that smallholders, with their mixed crop and livestock farming systems, will continue to be the main producers of ruminant (cattle, goat and sheep) products; monogastrics (such as poultry and pigs), and that most of the expansion will be through industrial production systems.

Policies that encourage healthy food consumption patterns, the sustainable intensification of all livestock production systems and selective promotion of monogastric livestock production, could result in increased environmental efficiency of livestock systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This can be done in ways that protect production in pastoral communities, and by smallholder farmers, NaijaAgroNet gathered.

Sustainable intensification of livestock production will yield significant benefits for food security, incomes, trade, smallholder competitiveness and ecosystems service.

The required investment, NaijaAgroNet learnt, include increased provision of veterinary services, inputs, institutional support, processing and market. These are all essential if current livestock production systems are to evolve into viable commercial operations.

NaijaAgroNet  monitored Landscapes.org reports that the study was prepared by a core research team from the Commonwealth and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) under the stewardship of the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Food Security and Nutrition and UN System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC).

Cyriacus Nnaji/ED,OPs

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