Ethiopia’s varied agro ecological zones put the country at an advantageous position in possessing relatively huge number of different livestock species as compared to other African countries. And the country, as source indicated, has the largest livestock inventory and ranks the first in Africa and tenth in the world.
Despite this, due to the failure of the majority of smallholder farmers to take the advantage of agricultural technologies and economic opportunities in the livestock is lowering sector’s productivity and its economic returns.
To curb the challenges and earn substantial benefit from the resource, the government has been undertaking various livestock development measures to increase productivity and improve the livelihood of the community.
Iyasu Abraha at the rank of State Minister Advisor of Livestock Resource Development sector in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources said that the country though has conducive environment to livestock rearing, due to the little attention given to the sector and failure to utilize modern technologies, the country could not obtain the expected benefit from the sector.
To reverse this, the Ministry, in collaboration with different stakeholders, has been facilitating the importation of tax free animal forage technology and encouraging individuals to adopt the technology.
He noted that to improve the products of the sector in terms of quantity and quality, the Ministry has been supporting those engaged in livestock rearing through introducing them with different supportive technologies and facilitating national and international market opportunities via hosting bazaars and exhibitions.
Equally, to raise sector’s productivity, the Ministry is working in collaboration with international research and investigation institutions setting various legal frameworks, he added.
Alemayehu Mekonnen, Ethiopia’s Representative to The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), an intergovernmental organization coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control, on his part said that to ensure productivity in the sector, currently the country drafted livestock health policy.
He noted that the drafted policy will enable to enhance veterinary governance in line with the World Organization for Animal Health and provides animal health services which comply with international standards. This, in turn, helps to have globally competitive livestock industry, and contribute to the achievement of food security, public health and socio economic growth.
According to him, beyond caring for the health and keeping the welfare of livestock, the policy is helpful to establish and maintain high veterinary professional standards to give credibility to export certification, and enable delivery of the required levels of disease control, regulation and licensing.
Shamsedin Yesuf Public Relations and Communication Team Leader with the Ministry also said that in response to an increasing population, urbanization, improved lifestyle, the demand for livestock products such as milk, meat, and eggs is growing rapidly in Ethiopia. The ever increasing demand for livestock products is offering opportunities for farmers to sell livestock and livestock products.
As to him, in order to meet the growing demand, farmers need to increase the productivity of their animals through the use of technological inputs such as improved livestock genotypes, improved nutrition, and healthcare.
The Ethiopian Herald December4, 2019
BY TAMERU REGASA
