Participants from multistakeholders attended information sharing workshop on current cattle production systems, their impacts on public health, environment and livelihoods.

22 March 2018, Addis Ababa - The Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, organized a midpoint workshop for participants from government, non-government, private institutions to facilitate information sharing of the results and the upcoming activities of the Africa Sustainable Livestock 2050 (ASL2050) project.  Specifically, information was shared during the workshop focusing on current production systems of cattle dairy and beef, along with their impacts on public health, the environment, and livelihoods and presenting the work plan of this year to identify potential future impacts. 

FAO implements the USAID funded ASL2050 in six countries in Africa namely, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. The goal of the ASL2050 is to ensure that national governments, regional governments, and international institutions, are in a position to formulate and implement policies and investments that support a sustainable growth of livestock. This will be achieved through assembling and interpreting data and information, as well as consulting and engaging stakeholders to understand the long-term growth trends of livestock systems and develop scenarios to understand their potential impacts on health, environment, and peoples’ livelihoods; and identify policy reforms that assist in effectively dealing with the emerging challenges associated with the long-term growth trends of livestock systems. 

Since its launch in June 2017, the ASL2050 in Ethiopia has gathered information to describe current production systems of selected livestock commodities, cattle dairy and beef, and generate evidence on their impacts (both positive and negative) on public health, the environment, and livelihoods. Review of literature, technical workshops and an expert elicitation protocol were the main data/information collection methods.  

In his opening remarks, representing the Federal Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr. Thomas Cherenet, Chairperson of the National ASL2050 Steering Committee, indicated, “The generated evidences represent the entry point for articulating long-term livestock scenarios, and identify policy gaps to be addressed for ensuring a sustainable growth of livestock in the long-term.” 

Evidently, the development of livestock systems will have both positive and negative effects on society, including public health, environment and people’s livelihoods. Decision makers at all levels, however, have little evidence of the likely impacts on society of alternative livestock development paths.  In 2018, the ASL2050 will hold several stakeholder workshops to use the gathered evidence and available projections to build scenarios of livestock systems’ impact in the long-term future.  These scenarios aim at providing input to start a constructive policy dialogue about priority actions and investments to support a sustainable livestock in an uncertain future.

For further information, contact: 

Feleseta Kassaye Woldtsadique

Risk Communication and One Health Outreach Coordinator

Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Email: [email protected]

Office: +251 11 647 8888 Ext 238