| Sumario: | To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN-SDGs) in Africa, livestock breeding efficiency is a prerequisite. Human capital in the form of professional, managerial, and technical skills, improved policies and institutional operation are the key enablers of performance for the smallholder livestock sector. Capacity building is central to guarantee African livestock efficiency along the value chains and ultimately transformed livelihoods. Currently, animal breeding and genetic improvement in Africa are constrained by a serious human and institutional capacity gap. The Livestock Development Strategy for Africa (LiDESA) seeks to transform the livestock sector for accelerated and equitable growth and for enhanced contribution to socio-economic development. Sustainable livestock development in Africa could be better realized through the development of customized capacity building strategies targeting (1) relevant participatory breeding education, hands-on training, efficient technical assistance, and collaborations / partnerships aiming to address farmers’ present and future challenges, (2) enabling breeding systems for sustainable productivity, resilience of breeds, and animal seed stock management, and (3) market-led breeding solutions that are attractive for the younger and future generations.
Challenges facing capacity building in livestock breeding in Africa vary between and within stakeholders of specific value chains, and farmers lack training and suitable support programmes for their breeding activities. Beyond the lack of skilled human resources, financial capacity to enforce legislation and policies in Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) that may lead to the design and implementation of conservation and breeding programmes is a major limiting factor in most African countries. Currently, animal breeding programmes may not thrive, unless a new cohort of breeders, infrastructures, and policies are in place and backed by long-term investment plans. The main loopholes of the desired revolution reside in the current gaps and limitations of higher education and professional trainings, in terms of human resources, infrastructure, curricular content, research, and cooperation.
The required capacity development could also be through people-centred community-based breeding programmes (CBBP), training of trainers, and continuous education with major inputs/roles by agricultural training institutions (e.g. Pan African University), the African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Genetics Resources (AU-IBAR) and the African Animal Breeding Network (AABNet), in the form of collaborations for teaching, research, and outreach.
Key capacity building intervention areas needing attention are: (1) Conservation and restoration of local animal genetic diversity, their improvement and dissemination of elite locally adapted and farmers-preferred genetics, and preservation of their natural habitat; (2) Demand-led capacity development in modern livestock breeding techniques; (3) Sustainable intensification of livestock farming practices; (4) Adaptation to extreme environmental conditions and livestock emergency guidelines and standards (LEGS); (5) Breeding for animal welfare, adaptability, and biosafety; (6) Big Data and artificial intelligence for smart farming and livestock breeding programmes; and (7) Infrastructural development and policies’ integration for technology uptake.
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