The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched the second phase of the Livestock Marketing Support programme (PACBAO) to enhance the livestock market value chain.
The Livestock Marketing Support Programme (PACBAO) is a programme that aims to support and develop the livestock and meat value chain across West Africa.
The programme will, among other objectives, promote healthy livestock and meat in the ECOWAS sub-region by enhancing the value of pastoral farming, integrating farmers into value chains, and meeting regional meat demand.
Ghana’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, at a knowledge sharing and dissemination workshop, said livestock accounted for about 14 per cent of agricultural GDP and plays a critical role in ensuring food security, generating income, and providing employment.
“Ghana still imports a significant share of its meat and livestock to meet domestic demand, and there is a persistent shortfall in domestic meat and milk production,” he said.
The Minister explained that the Livestock Marketing Support Programme aimed at modernising production systems, improving post-harvest management, and leveraging public-private investments to unlock the sector’s full potential.
Mr Opoku said Ghana contributed to the successful implementation of phase one of the programme, and the outcomes testified to strengthening the livestock value chain.
Phase two must build on the achievements of phase one with interventions to transform the meat and livestock sector across the region, he added.
Ms Janine Walz, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, said livestock was more than an economic sector, as it provided nutrition, resilience, and income for millions of families.
However, challenges such as limited market access, obstacles to cross-border trade, weak sanitary standards and insufficient opportunities for the youth and women persisted; hence, the need for the livestock marketing support programme to professionalise actors in the value chain, support innovation, and generate more opportunities for the youth and women to thrive.
She urged ECOWAS to accelerate the implementation of the programme so that the results would reach the people who needed them the most.
Mr Mohammed Lawan Gana, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, said the first phase of the programme, implemented from July 2018 to June 2023, generated in-depth knowledge, innovations, and best practices.
He stated that livestock farming significantly contributed to the GDP of Sahelian countries, as it was a major source of employment, providing jobs for up to 50 per cent of the population.
Mr Gana said the programme would ensure the development of an organised and stable market to attract more private investment.
He expressed ECOWAS’s commitment to implementing its regional integration policies and programmes.
