By NICHOLAS MWALE
 –

THE Government has observed the urgent need for a harmonised livestock
strategy to accelerate livestock production and productivity.
Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister Greyford Monde said
livestock services play a vital role in sustaining the productivity
and profitability of the livestock enterprises.
He said this when he officiated at the stakeholders consultative and validation workshop
for the formulation of livestock development strategy for the Southern
Africa organised by Africa Union Inter-Africa Bureau for Animal
Resources (AU-IBAR).
Mr Monde observed that the ability to attain full livestock productive
potential was often constrained by the inadequate livestock services.
He explained that government had been making efforts to improve
livestock service delivery through infrastructure development such as
the establishment of diagnostic and research institutes, check points,
quarantine stations, livestock service centres and livestock breeding
centres.
He said it was well known that livestock remained one of the drivers
of wealth creation and means for improved food security and thus an
important contributor to the economic development of the country.
“Though this has been the case, the traditional husbandry system and
wide occurrence of diseases of economic importance including weak
institutions pose huge challenges on the efforts being made to improve
production and productivity of livestock agriculture,” Mr Monde said.
Mr Monde said the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock was
working on the improvement of the livestock policy and that the
Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP) team and
the Veterinary Government coordinators were active.
Meanwhile, AU-IBAR senior programmes and projects officer Bruce
Mukanda says the livestock sector in Africa remained one of the sectors
that had below-par performance, largely because it is poorly funded
by both the public and private sectors.  – NAIS