East Africa
Livestock is a key economic sector and one of the main sources of income for smallholder farmers and pastoralists in East Africa, accounting for about 26 percent of the agricultural GDP. Here livestock does not only provide food security, income, and employment, but is also associated with cultural, social, and religious values. Together Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda hold almost 40 percent of the total cattle herd in Africa, which counts over 120 million animals and is the largest in the region. In East Africa, dairy cattle produce approximately 11 million tonnes of milk per year and are distributed in an area of more than 118 million hectares. Milk consumption varies greatly among East African countries, but milk represents on average 80 percent of the total animal food supply.
