1. This is the first paper issued under the auspices of ALPAN - The African Livestock Policy Analysis Network. The first part of the paper sets a framework in which policy, policy making and policy analysis can be defined and the principal actors in the process of policy formulation identified, it seeks to establish, therefore, an initial set of common terms and concepts which will enable us to understand each other at the outset. We can amend the terms and concepts later as we gain experience and find that modifications are needed in our initial set to make them correspond better to reality. The second part of the paper discusses how livestock policy in Africa might be improved.
