Following demand from NARS (national agricultural research systems) and bilateral and international agencies working in sub-Saharan Africa, ILCA developed a training course for senior and middle-ranking staff working in policy analysis and related fields for the livestock subsector within the region (sub-Saharan Africa). This manual has been written to accompany this course.
A major purpose of the manual is to supplement the instructor-based learning for the ILCA training course on policy analysis and the material used in this English edition was originally developed to meet the specific needs of the ILCA course. However, it has been prepared for use by other institutions, particularly universities and regional training centres to support training in livestock policy analysis. Since the manual uses a modular and learner-driven format, it also provides a self-learning package to update the reader's knowledge and understanding of modern principles of policy analysis and policy making.
Many individuals have contributed to the preparation of the manual. Mr Stephen Sandford, the former Head of the Livestock Economics Division at ILCA, initiated the livestock policy course, planned the preparation of the manual to back up the course and provided technical backstopping and guidance in the development of the manual's content. Many others assisted, including Dr Martin Doran, who prepared the main text of the manual; Mr Steve Staal rewrote the chapter on Marketing and Distribution Systems; Dr John P Hunter revised the chapter on Livestock Production and Marketing in Alphabeta - A Case Study; Professor Hartwig de Haen, Professor Stefan Tangermann, Addis Anteneh, Ray Brokken, John Howell, Stephen Lawry, John McIntire, Alexandra Shaw and Valentin von Massow all made substantial contributions to the technical content of one or more course modules.
As a training material specialist, Dr Bansh Tripathi, the former Head of Training at ILCA, wrote the performance objectives, important points and feedback exercises to make the manual a self-learning package. Dr Simeon Ehui, Head of the Socio-economic Sciences Division at ILCA, read the manual for its correctness and provided valuable technical assistance. Dr Michele Lipner edited the manuscript and Ato Tekleab Habte Michael typeset the text and prepared the camera-ready pages.
We recognise that the manual will benefit from further improvements and we will appreciate comments and suggestions from users and future participants in the livestock policy course. However, it is hoped that, even in its present form, the manual will prove helpful to the managers, researchers, faculty members and students who are already involved or who intend to become involved in policy analysis and policy formulation work. Suggestions and comments for improvement are most welcome.
Dr M E Smalley
Director of Training and Information
ILCADr S. Ehui
Head, Socio-economics Sciences Division
ILCA.
