Not policy, strategic or plan issues that hinders the country not able to use from the sector and contribute much for the over all to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP).

 

Although Ethiopia is endowed with a huge livestock resource, it has not so far adequately harnessed this bounty for the economic take off it envisages--ensuring food security as well as paving the way for industrialization.

 

Nonetheless, no policy bottleneck or strategic shortfall hinders the country from unleashing the benefits from the sector and channeling it towards the Gross Domestic Product(GDP); it is a systemic problem that is stifling things, said Livestock and Fishery Development Minister Sileshi Getahun .

 

The government plans to push livestock development contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 10 per cent. Thus, the newly established Ministry will aggressively pursue the assignment it is entrusted with focusing on three major areas-- cattle fattening, dairy industry and poultry-- in terms of quality and quantity during the Second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) period, he added.

 

In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Minister Sileshi said that Ethiopia has a vision of becoming a middle income economy by 2025. One of the means for achieving this lofty objective is boosting agricultural production and productivity. Livestock development and fishery come on top of the table.

 

The Minister further said that livestock and fishery production is believed to be a resource for boosting agricultural production. Therefore, the government plans to increase red meat, fish, milk and poultry production by 11.8, 15, 9 and 600 per cent respectively in GTP II period.

 

"We have a huge potential which would be instrumental in increasing poultry production by 600 per cent. Fish production will also be one of the focus areas in the future. We have adequate number of cattle, sheep, goat, small remnant animals. Though some neighbouring countries are relatively gifted less, paradoxically, we are importing semi- processed hide and skin from them. We need to address that," Sileshi said.Therefore, the government will exert unreserved effort and exhaustively engage in livestock species improvement, increasing exportable red meat yield and its supply for domestic consumption, he added. The Ministry as well eyes at increasing dairy production and poultry yields. Regarding quality and quantity in GTP II, he said the Ministry will focus on not only meat production but dairy production as well.

 

Sileshi further said that systemic problems, starting from improvement of the livestock species, provision of feed to the livestock, among others, are the major bottlenecks that call for added attention. To meeting the international standards for health aspects of the livestock and the over all veterinary, epidemiological, marketing issues related with export strict quarantine centers as well as mechanisms are needed . "Above all we need to improve the extension system in the livestock and fishery," Sileshi said.

 

According to the Minister, the government established Livestock Development and Fishery Ministry mindful of the need for reform in terms of livestock species improvement and their health condition ."The government thinks that the sector has not been adequately led and we have not so far discharged our responsibility effectively."

 

"But currently, we have started to build quarantine centers, solve animal feed provision and to systematize marketing issues by putting in place a mechanism and instituting many regulations and laws," the Minister said.

 

However, institutional capability, capacity in terms of providing adequate extension support, offering skill upgrading training and leading all systems in the livestock and fishery sector will still remain a big challenge.

Source : allafrica.com