Livestock data innovation in Africa

The aim of this project is to improve the quality of data on livestock in Africa to enhance the understanding of the roles of livestock in poverty reduction. The key objective of the project is to develop a development communications approach towards data review/collection/analysis of livestock data in selected African countries which guides better decision-making and investment to support livelihood improvement among smallholder livestock producers. Project activities will focus on identifying pro-poor livestock initiatives which benefit households who can potentially serve local and growing markets for animal protein products.

The project targets:

  1. a broader understanding of the importance of livestock to poverty reduction at the household level and identification of entry points for reducing poverty;
  2. the identification and analysis of market sheds, in particular ‘hot-spots’ of demand for livestock  products and the identification of opportunities for market participation for smallholders;
  3. analysis of constraints facing livestock-holding smallholders;
  4. stakeholder identification of critical data gaps, opportunities for addressing these gaps and the creation of an enabling environment through enhancing data collection and analytical abilities at a local level; and
  5. effective dissemination of project results with the objective of developing data platforms and national commitment to data collection/analysis.