East Africa
Livestock is a key economic sector and one of the main sources of income for smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Eastern Africa, accounting for about 26 percent of the agricultural GDP. Here, livestock not only provides food security, income, and employment, but is also associated with cultural, social, and religious values. Together, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zimbabwe hold almost 40 percent of the total cattle herd in Africa, which counts over 150 million animals and is the largest in the region. In Eastern Africa, dairy cattle produced approximately 20 million tonnes of milk in 2023 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.
Highlights
News
Tackling methane emissions and mobilizing climate finance for the livestock sector in Rwanda
18/02/2025
FAO, in collaboration with Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) and the Ministry of Environment (MoE), will host the official...
Zambia advances livestock methane mitigation through hands-on training
02/09/2024
Zambia strengthens its commitment to climate action with a new training workshop focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and reporting, mitigation...
Inception workshop launched the new phase of Flexible Voluntary Contribution subprogramme on livestock climate action
01/08/2024
The inception workshop marked the launch of the second phase of the Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC) subprogramme, titled “Scaling-up livestock...
Regional expert workshop on scaling up national climate actions in Eastern and Southern Africa
02/08/2024
FAO, in collaboration with the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Africa Climate Action Partnership (AfCAP), successfully hosted a...
Enhancing adaptation and mitigation actions for sustainable livestock transformation in eight countries
26/07/2024
Eight countries - Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – will elevate climate...
Enhancing policy coherence and institutional capacity on livestock climate actions in Kenya
08/12/2023
Livestock plays a pivotal role in Kenya's economy, supporting the livelihoods of a significant portion of the population. However, the sector faces...
Stakeholders in the United Republic of Tanzania highlighted the role of livestock in addressing climate change
29/11/2023
Stakeholders in the United Republic of Tanzania have emphasized the critical role of livestock in addressing climate change. A national workshop,...
Addressing enteric methane to strengthen livestock climate actions in Kenya
13/11/2023
FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Kenya will organize a stocktaking workshop to address...
Bringing together stakeholders to discuss livestock climate actions in Tanzania
03/11/2023
FAO organizes a national stakeholder workshop to support livestock-related nationally determined contributions in Tanzania.
A collaborative push for climate action: Aligning livestock policies with nationally determined contributions in Kenya
21/07/2023
Aligning livestock policies with the nationally determined contributions...
Enhancing livestock climate actions in Rwanda
10/07/2023
Livestock stakeholders in Rwanda recently convened to discuss the outcomes of the assessment conducted on livestock climate...
Kenya commits to boost livestock climate actions
13/02/2023
The current climate crisis is affecting Kenya’s livestock sector in an unprecedented way. A recent drought has put more than half of Kenya’s land...
Flexible Voluntary Contribution funds support countries to enhance climate actions in the livestock sector
09/02/2023
Sustainable livestock systems can be a major player in the fight against climate change, poverty and food insecurity. By addressing climate change in...
Another step forward to enhance livestock climate actions in Kenya
29/11/2022
With a livestock population of over 146 million, livestock play an important socio-economic role in Kenya. Yet, the livestock sector is also one...
National climate actions cannot ignore the livestock sector
02/09/2022
Sustainable livestock systems can be a major player in the fight against climate change, poverty and food insecurity. By addressing climate change...
Finding climate solutions in the livestock sector
05/11/2020
Five key takeaways from FAO regional workshops on climate action in the livestock sector
Climate and Clean Air Coalition ministers approve strategy to significantly cut short-lived climate pollutants this decade
09/11/2021
To kickstart the CCAC's 2030 Strategy countries pledged an initial $25 million to the Coalition’s trust fund as a first step towards a $150 million...
New IPCC Report Bolsters Evidence that Methane Reductions are Key to Preventing Climate Catastrophe
08/04/2022
The IPCC amplifies the conclusions of CCAC-UNEP Global Methane Assessment, showing the urgent need to reduce methane in parallel with decarbonization.
The CCAC shows agriculture is key to the success of climate change and air pollution Solutions
02/05/2022
Ten years ago, it was uncommon for agriculture to be seen as a major contributor to the global climate crisis, let alone as part of the solution....
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