AU-IBAR Paves the Way for Realizing African-Owned Livestock Pool of Experts in Support of CAADP Implementation

Livestock experts drawn from 20 African nations spearheaded the establishment of the pool of experts which will drive the process of increasing the profile of livestock in national and regional investment portfolios; thereby achieving CAADP’s targets.

In a consultative meeting, organized by AU-IBAR’s VET-GOV Programme, in collaboration with NEPAD Agency, held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 13th to 15th July 2015, a group of experts extensively discussed on the recommendations made by African ministers responsible for animal resources on the significance of an African-led pool of experts to advance livestock sector’s integration in CAADP. Accordingly, the experts laid down the foundations for the realization of the pool, the main role of which will be supporting the mainstreaming of livestock in CAADP at national and regional levels.

During the 3 day meeting, experts discussed on a number of issues, with a focus on CAADP countries’ processes; the role of Livestock Policy Hubs, as well as the existing livestock institutions, networks and alliances, as platforms to foster debate and information exchange in livestock policy and strategy development. At the end, the meeting agreed to strengthen the pool to allow experts stimulate and support learning as well as provide peer-based quality assurance on the processes of mainstreaming of livestock into CAADP. To this end, AU-IBAR, NEPAD and RECs agreed to mobilise communities of practice to ensure broad based information exchange and learning to respond to national and regional needs.

CAADP implementation attaches a significant importance to knowledge sharing to ensure evidence-based decision making in pursuit of achieving the CAADP target of 6% agricultural growth and transformation.