AU-IBAR leads continental push to turn Africa’s pastoral livestock into economic powerhouse – EnviroNews

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The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) has launched a bold continental initiative to transform Africa’s pastoral livestock sector from a largely overlooked livelihood system into a strategic economic engine capable of driving food security, regional trade, industrialisation, investment and job creation across the continent.

The initiative took centre stage at the inaugural African Pastoral Markets Forum, organised by AU-IBAR through the African Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Platform, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The five-day forum has brought together ministers, policymakers, investors, financial institutions, private sector leaders, pastoral communities, women and youth entrepreneurs, researchers and development partners to chart a new pathway for Africa’s pastoral economy.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, AU-IBAR Director, Dr. Huyam Salih, said Africa must fundamentally change its perception of pastoralism, moving away from viewing it as a humanitarian challenge characterised by drought, conflict and poverty to recognising it as one of the continent’s greatest untapped economic assets.

“We are here to make a deliberate continental shift—from treating pastoral livestock mainly as a vulnerability issue to recognising it as a strategic economic system capable of supporting food security, trade, jobs, investment, industrialisation and regional integration,” she declared.

According to Salih, livestock contributes nearly one-quarter of agricultural GDP in sub-Saharan Africa and accounts for between 30 and 80 per cent of agricultural value added in many African countries. More than 268 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists depend directly on pastoral production systems, making the sector one of Africa’s largest indigenous economic enterprises.

“This is not a safety net; it is continent-wide economic infrastructure,” she said.

Despite possessing one of the world’s largest livestock populations, Salih noted that Africa continues to capture only a small share of the sector’s global value because pastoral economies remain underinvested, underserved by financial institutions and largely invisible within national economic planning.

“Africa holds a vast share of the world’s livestock while capturing only a small share of its value. Hidden in our national accounts, underserved by our financial institutions and under-represented in our investment portfolios, that gap represents one of the largest investible opportunities in African agriculture.”

She explained that AU-IBAR established the African Pastoral Markets Development Platform with support from the Gates Foundation to generate evidence, validate commercially viable business models, strengthen policy reforms and mobilise investments capable of integrating pastoralists into formal livestock markets.

According to her, pilot interventions in Nigeria and Kenya have already demonstrated that structured market systems can significantly improve livestock trade, strengthen value chains and attract private investment.

“Our work has moved beyond theory. What participants will see throughout this forum is evidence that pastoral livestock can become a profitable commercial enterprise capable of transforming rural economies.”

Salih described the forum as a “working marketplace” where governments, investors, financial institutions and development partners would move beyond dialogue to developing concrete investment opportunities, financing models and policy commitments.

She urged governments to strengthen livestock trade corridors, harmonise regulations and improve market infrastructure, while calling on commercial banks and investors to provide financing instruments capable of unlocking private investment across Africa’s livestock value chains.

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AU Seeks Stronger Regional Livestock Markets

Representing the African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Dr. Janet Edeme said pastoral livestock markets must become central to Africa’s economic transformation agenda.

She stressed that pastoralism supports the livelihoods of more than 300 million Africans, contributes significantly to national economies and remains vital to food security across the continent.

“Transforming pastoral livestock markets is not simply an agricultural agenda. It is an economic transformation agenda, a peacebuilding agenda, a climate resilience agenda and an Agenda 2063 agenda,” she said.

Edeme called for accelerated implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area through harmonised livestock trade regulations, improved veterinary services, stronger disease surveillance systems, digital livestock traceability and greater investment in roads, livestock markets, cold-chain facilities and processing industries.

She also urged African governments to prioritise women and young people through targeted financing, entrepreneurship support and skills development programmes across livestock value chains.

Ethiopia Calls for Investment

Opening the forum, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr. Fikru Regassa, said pastoral livestock remains one of Africa’s most important production systems, contributing significantly to food security, exports, employment and rural incomes.

However, he noted that pastoral communities continue to face numerous obstacles, including poor infrastructure, inadequate access to finance, climate change, limited market information, weak transport systems and trade barriers.

“This forum provides an opportunity to move beyond discussing challenges and focus on practical, investable and scalable solutions,” he said.

Regassa called for increased investment in veterinary services, livestock markets, transport infrastructure, cold-chain facilities, digital technologies, traceability systems and processing industries to unlock the sector’s economic potential.

He added that Ethiopia remains committed to strengthening livestock productivity, expanding veterinary services and promoting regional cooperation to improve cross-border livestock trade.

Gates Foundation Targets US$3 Billion Investment

The Gates Foundation pledged continued support for AU-IBAR’s efforts to commercialise Africa’s pastoral livestock economy.

Speaking at the forum, Senior Officer for Livestock and Economic Opportunity, Dr. Tom Osebe, noted that Africa possesses about 20 per cent of the world’s cattle, 27 per cent of its sheep, 32 per cent of its goats and more than 15 per cent of its camels, yet earns only a fraction of their economic value.

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“That gap between what Africa holds and what Africa earns is why we are gathered here,” he said.

Osebe explained that investments in pastoral markets would improve child nutrition through increased access to animal-source foods, strengthen disease surveillance by enhancing veterinary systems and create sustainable economic opportunities for millions of pastoral households.

He disclosed that the Gates Foundation is partnering AU-IBAR to help unlock up to US$3 billion in planned pastoral investments over the next three to five years by strengthening policy frameworks, improving market integration and making the sector more attractive to investors.

“Our posture here is investment, not aid,” he said.

From Vulnerability to Prosperity

Throughout the five-day forum, delegates will examine livestock trade corridors, blended finance mechanisms, digital innovations, animal health systems, traceability, investment opportunities and policy reforms needed to transform Africa’s pastoral livestock economy.

The meeting is expected to produce a continental investment pipeline, strengthen political commitment to pastoral market development and establish the African Pastoral Markets Forum as a permanent platform for mobilising investment, expanding regional livestock trade and accelerating implementation of Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

For AU-IBAR, the message is clear: Africa’s pastoral livestock sector should no longer be viewed as a development challenge requiring humanitarian assistance but as a strategic economic resource capable of generating wealth, creating millions of jobs, boosting intra-African trade and driving sustainable growth across the continent.