African ministers of livestock and agriculture have agreed on bold measures to transform food and nutrition security on the continent, placing livestock and animal-sourced foods (ASFs) at the center of Africa’s food systems agenda.
The commitments were made during the first-ever ministerial deep dive on livestock, held at the African Food Systems Forum in Dakar.
The session was co-hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and GIZ, with 13 countries participating.
According to the Ministers, despite Africa being home to 85 percent of the world’s livestock keepers, the continent produces only 2.6 percent of global milk, forcing it to spend $50 billion annually on food imports. With demand for meat projected to triple and milk demand expected to double by 2050, the Ministers emphasized urgent need to boost productivity.
“We produce only 400 million liters of milk compared to over 2 billion liters in countries like Kenya and Uganda.
“We rely too much on imports and must increase productivity to close this gap.”
ILRI Director General, Appolinaire Djikeng, emphasised scaling proven regional solutions.
“We must scale what works regionally, bridging science, policy, and practice. This is a triple win: meeting demand for livestock products, improving farmer livelihoods, and ensuring environmental sustainability,” he said.
Youth employment was a major focus, with ministers noting that Africa’s 53 million unemployed youth could be absorbed through livestock enterprises. Tanzania’s experience was highlighted, where 235,000 young entrepreneurs have been trained and 150,000 now run their own livestock businesses.
Ministers also stressed the importance of genetic improvement programs. Uganda, for example, produces 3.4 billion liters of milk annually, compared to Senegal’s 400 million, largely due to cattle genetics. High-yield breeds, they said, can quickly boost incomes, improve nutrition, and ease household expenses such as school fees.
The session showcased models from across Africa, including Mali’s crop-livestock-fisheries integration, Somalia’s vaccination of 20 million animals while empowering women in value chains, and Tanzania’s digital tools for real-time livestock monitoring.
Ministers concluded with concrete commitments to:
-Establish feed banks to reduce seasonal shortages
-Strengthen regional cooperation to overcome fragmented markets
-Scale youth-led livestock enterprises
-Expand genetic improvement programs
-Hold annual livestock ministerial sessions for accountability
“Africa cannot achieve sustainable food security without placing livestock at the heart of our agenda.
“For millions of farmers, this is the difference between poverty and prosperity, between subsistence and thriving agribusiness.”
