Animal diseases causing huge financial losses

Sub-Saharan countries are incurring losses of up to two billion dollars per year through reduced production caused by animal diseases, Ethiopia's Agriculture Minister Mulatu Teshome has warned.

The pro-government Walta Information Centre (WIC) said he told a livestock conference in Addis Ababa on Monday that the prevalence of animal diseases, "coupled with an insufficient supply of quality feeds, poor genetic resource management, poor husbandry practices and poor marketing", had led to diminishing food security and national economic growth in Africa.

"The low level of livestock production, due to endemic diseases in the continent, not only depresses marketable surpluses but also leads to overgrazing and degradation of productive agricultural land because livestock holders keep large numbers of herds," Mulatu was quoted as saying.

In Ethiopia, he said, production in the livestock sector was generally low and its growth almost at a standstill.

He called for improving veterinary services in Africa, regional harmonisation of efforts to eradicate cross-border disease, and ongoing epidemiological surveys.

The findings of the conference will be discussed at a meeting of African agriculture ministers in the Ethiopian capital later this week.