By Binta Jaiteh
The government of the Gambia through the Ministry of Agriculture Small Ruminant Production Enhancement Project (SRPEP) reviewed the Gambia Livestock Master Plan, to improve the livelihood of thirty thousand (30) livestock producers ahead of its launching scheduled for tomorrow.
In collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Livestock Research Institute, during the reviewing of the document held at Sir Dawda Kairaba International Conference Centre, Mr. Mamud Njie, Project Director of Small Ruminant Enhancement Production Project (SRPEP) noted that the project has been conceived to improve the livelihood of thirty thousand livestock producers producing household by improving their productivity, local breed through better feeding and husbandry practices fostering better greater access to veterinary services and production infrastructure such as boreholes.
According to him, an important aspect of this project was the development of the livestock master plan aimed to transform livestock sectors to improve the livelihood in particular to create employment for youths and women and increase national income.
He added that during the formulation of the small ruminant project, there were ideas that it should expand beyond small ruminants.
However, the objective of the master plan is mainly to increase investment and attract more substantial and better-targeted livestock sector investment for both ministries, development partners, and the private sector.
The LMP process enables ministries to accomplish this first by identifying the needed investment and policies of the livestock sector and then carrying out a foresight or anti-investment analysis to document and demonstrate the potential returns of investment.
The International Livestock Research Institute was single-sourced during the project appraisal mainly due to the experience that they had during the development of the LMP for countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Dr . Lain Wright, Deputy Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) also said this is one of 12 agriculture research operating centers across the globe noting that it aimed to reduce poverty and increase food and nutrition security, and improves incomes. Taking account of the environmental challenges that face agriculture and the livestock sector around climate change.