The framework for regional collaboration in animal agriculture: The SADC animal agriculture network (SAARNET)

SACCAR's strategy emphasises that dynamic, productive and responsive agricultural research systems are essential to realising the food security potential of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the continuous development of technologies for different sectors of agriculture will depend on a co-ordinated effort by countries of the SADC region. It is against this backdrop that SACCAR has adopted networking as a strategy to achieve strong co-ordination and collaboration among SADC member states for regional development and advancement in agriculture. The SADC Animal Agriculture Research Network (SAARNET) was therefore formed in 1997 as a joint effort between SACCAR and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to provide the framework for regional co-ordination and collaboration in animal agriculture. SAARNET as a regional network aims at promoting partnerships between different stakeholders (institutes, governments, donors, farmers and research disciplines) to solve common problems. Partnerships will be strengthened between stakeholders through participatory approaches (workshops, seminars, field days and training sessions) to plan and prioritise activities, and share information, technology, and materials. The organisation and operation of a collaborative research network such as SAARNET is very challenging though rewarding. It is therefore critical that the institutional framework and activities of the research network are clearly related to the needs and goals of all its stakeholders, including the farmer. Also crucial to the success of the network are simple but efficient mechanisms for co-ordination, information dissemination, monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. Above all, a network needs sustainable funding to be able to implement its programmes and ensure the effective participation of the stakeholders, particularly the National Agricultural Research Institutions (NARIs). This paper elaborates SAARNETS strategy to achieve this daunting task

Crisis mitigation in livestock dependant systems: The role and limitations of current initiatives for livestock systems in South Africa

Livestock are central to the livelihoods of livestock-dependent systems in Africa, particularly pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. Over the years, however, climatic extremes in this sub-region have impacted the agricultural production systems including livestock-dependent systems and hence the livestock owners. In recognition of this problem, the SADC member states have elaborated a Sub-Regional Action Programme (SRAP) to Combat Desertification in Southern Africa under the umbrella of the SADC Environment and Land Management Sector. In addition, the sub-region has, with the assistance of collaborating partners, established early warning systems (EWS) to assist farmers anticipate and prepare for climatic extremes such as drought. This paper discusses these initiatives focusing on their role and limitations to serve the livestock sector and suggests opportunities to enhance their effectiveness to support and improve the management of livestock and drought

Small ruminant research and development in Africa: proceedings of the Third Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network : UICC, Kampala, Uganda, 5-9 December 1994

This volume contains papers and abstracts of the Third Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network. In addition to the keynote address, there are nine papers on Genetic Resources Enhancement and Utilisation, seven papers on Production Systems, Policy and Economics, six papers on Management and Health, 12 papers and Feeding Systems and 10 papers on Performance and Reproduction. Six poster abstracts covering the above topics add to the volume

The framework for regional collaboration in animal agriculture: The SADC Animal Agriculture Network (SAARNET)

SACCAR\92s strategy emphasizes that dynamic, productive and responsive agricultural research systems are essential to realizing the food security potential of the SADC region and the continuous Development of technologies for different sectors of agriculture will depend on a co-ordinated effort by countries of the SADC region. It is against this backdrop that SACCAR has adopted networking as a strategy to achieve strong coordination and collaboration among SADC member states for regional Development and advancement in agriculture. The SADC Animal Agriculture Research Network (SAARNET) was therefore formed in 1997 as a joint effort between SACCAR and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to provide the framework for regional co-ordination and collaboration in animal agriculture. SAARNET as a regional network aims at promoting partnerships between different stakeholders (institutes, governments, donors, farmers and research disciplines) to solve common problems. Partnerships will be strengthened between stakeholders through participatory approaches (workshops, seminars, field days and training sessions) to plan and prioritise activities, and share information, technology, and materials. The organisation and operation of a collaborative research network such as SAARNET is very challenging thou rewarding. It is therefore critical that the institutional framework and activities of the research network are clearly related to the needs and goals of all its stakeholders, including the farmer. Also crucial to the success of the network are simple but efficient mechanisms for co-ordination, information dissemination, monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. Above all, a network needs sustainable funding to be able to implement its programmes and ensure the effective participation of the stakeholders, particularly the National Agricultural Research Institutions (NARIs). This paper elaborates SAARNETS strategy to achieve this daunting task

Introduction: Workshop objectives and expected outputs

This paper first presents an introduction about the workshop, which includes background and aims. It then outlines the relevance of the workshop to the realization of the SACCAR mandate and objectives; and summarises the objectives and the expected outputs of the workshop. It ends with the workshop procedure

Livestock and food security in smallholder production systems in Africa: Beyond meat and milk

Today, about 800 million people experience hunger and malnutrition. The major underlying factors include inadequate food supply due to inadequate production and distribution, and low incomes. animal agriculture is crucial to the enhancement of food security and sustainable agricultural Development in Africa and in the rest of the "developing" world. Livestock provide high quality food in the form of meat, milk and eggs. Above these, they contribute to food production through nutrient cycling and use of draught power for crop production; they provide opportunities for employment and earning cash income; they meet the socio-cultural needs of the people who keep them. The multiple functions of livestock have, however, not been fully recognised as a result of cultural prejudices and lack of understanding. These prejudices manifest themselves in the criticism against animal agriculture and the declining international support for animal agriculture in the developing world, especially in SSA. This situation needs to be reversed, and needs to be done quickly, because the livelihood of majority of resource poor people in the developing countries depends on sustainable animal agriculture

Organisation of goat research: The African perspective

Goat research is organised at various levels in Africa with divers key players, interests and approaches. The paper presents an overview of these levels, the forces that mitigate against goat research and Development and suggests some measures that can address these constraints

Goats under household conditions

Goats account for about 30% of Africa's ruminant livestock and produce about 17 and 12% of its meat and milk, respectively. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for over 60% of the total goat population in Africa, with an estimated 147million goats representing about 80 indigenous breeds or strains distributed across all agro-ecological zones and ruminant livestock production systems. Goats are particularly important in marginal agricultural land areas, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, which together hold 64% of the goat population. At the rural community level, goats play a significant role in the food chain and overall livelihoods of the poor rural households where they are also largely the property of resource poor women and their children. Indigenous goat breeds/strains are adapted to the diverse local production circumstances and are able to thrive with minimum inputs. Goats still remain largely marginalized, even at the household level. This paper attempts to look at the challenges and opportunities of goat keeping at the household level for the improved welfare of the keepers, using SSA as a representative of other developing sub-regions