Posted on August, 3, 2023 at 10:12 am
Moshi. Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) have appealed for an end to persistent conflicts among the nomadic herders and farmers.
They want the partner states in the East African Community (EAC) to step in so that the regional economies can tap the full potential of livestock, in particular.
They argued that conflicts between herders and farmers can be ended with a review of the laws so as to enhance the symbiotic relationship between the two key sectors of the economy.
The appeal was made by members of the Eala Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Tourism during their recent retreat in Moshi municipality.
During the retreat, the MPs went through a proposed bill geared to enhance productivity in the livestock sub-sector and its linkage with agriculture.
Briefing the media, an Eala member from Tanzania, Dr Abdullah Makame, said the retreat was also aimed at enforcing the existing laws to boost the livestock industry.
“Our goal is to put in place legislation that will be enforced in all seven EAC member countries without any negative impact on any country,” he said.
An MP from Rwanda, Ms Fatuma Ndangiza, hinted that the proposed legislation and regulations would suppress unnecessary conflicts between the farmer and the herders.
She added that members of the committee will collect the views of all stakeholders before the amended laws are tabled before the regional Assembly.
Ms Ndangiza said clashes between the cattle herders and the farmers were more pronounced during the dry seasons and that the trend was common in the entire EAC region.
“Livestock keeping is a cross-cutting issue. It touches agriculture, land tenure, carrying capacity of land, and availability of water resources, among others,” she said.
On her part, the chairperson of the committee, Ms Francoise Uwumukiza, also from Rwanda, said the planned Bill is intended to boost the productivity of livestock.
She said the traditional livestock keepers in the East African region were among the victims of food insecurity due to conflict-related crises and unfavourable weather.
East Africa’s livestock sub-sector generates more than $1 billion annually through the export of live animals and meat to the Middle East and North Africa.
Livestock is primarily owned by pastoralists in East Africa and consists of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels, mainly for meat and milk production.
Others are pigs and poultry for white meat and eggs, respectively, and hides and skins for export and industrial processing.
According to a recently released report by the Malabo Montpellier Panel, pastoralism produces 90 percent of the meat consumed in East Africa.
In Kenya, 60 to 65 percent of the total meat supply originates from pastoralist systems, including imports from Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Pastoralism also provides 80 percent of the total annual milk supply in Ethiopia, which has the largest herds of cattle, followed by Tanzania.
Governments are keen to see enhanced livestock production for domestic consumption as well as exports within and outside the community.
The EAC recently launched its livestock development policy, which aims to encourage the productive use of livestock assets.
The policy also targets increasing resilience to climate-related risks such as droughts and extreme temperatures and sustaining livestock productivity.
The goal of EAC livestock policy is to attain an annual growth rate of at least 5.0 percent with a significant livestock contribution to the agricultural GDP exceeding 50 percent.
This would contribute to the reduction of poverty, hunger, unemployment, and the degradation of natural resources.
Experts in the industry say East Africa and the neighbouring Horn of Africa have an advantage over other African regions because of having nearly half of Africa’s livestock population.
The four EAC partner states of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan—along with Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan—account for 42 percent of the continent’s livestock exports.
The study also predicts a spike in demand for animal-sourced foods to more than $151 billion annually by 2050, thus creating important opportunities for African countries to improve their trade balances.
Source: The Citizen