East Africa draws up livestock export plan

East African states have developed an ambitious plan to boost livestock exports to the world market.

 

The move by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS),  a regional body dealing with security issues in Eastern and Southern Africa, involves the identification and traceability of livestock as required by international markets.

 

A protocol signed last year on the identification and traceability of livestock in Eastern Africa seeks to ensure that all livestock in Eastern Africa are permanently branded with a standardised system. The initiative will help the region earn foreign exchange and also curb the ongoing problem of cattle rustling.

 

Currently, international markets require that before an animal is slaughtered, it can be identified and traced to the country of origin.

 

Mohammed Bahari, a Director at the Ministry of Livestock Development in Tanzania, said identification and traceability of the region's livestock will help fetch better prices in the international markets.

 

High production costs compared to the world market prices has hindered the region in exporting its livestock and livestock products, and is a wake-up call to the region to invest substantial amount of funds to improve its export infrastructure, Bahari said.

 

The protocol also seeks to fight livestock diseases, which have hampered production. The prevalence of East Coast Fever has also caused more than 65 percent of cattle deaths in Tanzania, Bahari said.

 

Dominic Ferguson, a consultant in livestock production in Botswana, said the development will help the region access lucrative foreign livestock markets.

 

East Africa has been excluded from international markets because of the setbacks with its traceability systems, while South African states Botswana and Namibia are earning a lot from the exports to high value European markets, Ferguson said.

 

Critics noted that the region's livestock sector may have more potential than perceived if more resources are committed to it.

 

If the protocol is implemented, Kenya could export more than 400,000 tonnes of red meat per year. But the identification and traceability process may not be a sustainable way of dealing with the cattle rustling menace.

 

Once a quasi-cultural practice, cattle rustling has now become a plundering activity, said the ISS.

 

Between 1996 and 2002, Kenya lost more than 300,000 livestock to rustling, according to statistics.