New report identifies priority areas for investment to improve livestock data in Africa

Livestock at a watering hole in Niger. A new report identifies priority areas for government investment towards improving the quality of livestock data in Africa (photo credit: ILRI). 

The Livestock Data Innovation in Africa project has published a new report (May 2012)  that  reviews the results of a global online survey that was carried out to identify priority areas for investments to improve the quality of livestock data. 

The survey was carried out between January and February 2012 among 641 livestock stakeholders including researchers, donors, government officials from livestock ministries or departments, and officials from non-governmental organizations and private companies. 

The objectives of the survey were to: 

• rank the main areas in the livestock value chain where livestock-related data and information are needed;
• review stakeholders' perceptions of the quality of available livestock data and indicators; and
• identify priority areas along the livestock value chain where investments are needed to improve the quality and quantity of livestock data and indicators.

The findings of the report, Core livestock data and indicators: results of a stakeholder survey, will provide governments with information on the critical gaps in livestock data. 

In addition, the results will feed into the process of developing a minimum  set of livestock core data that governments should collect, as mandated by the global strategy to improve agriculture and rural statistics.

The Livestock Data Innovation Project is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and jointly implemented by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in collaboration with the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

Concerned about the quality of livestock data? The Livestock Data Innovation project seeks your views

The Livestock Data Innovation project is carrying out a short online survey which will help identify priority areas for investments to improve the quantity and quality of livestock-related data available to decision-makers.

The survey is available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LIVESTOCK_INDICATORS.

There are just eight questions and you should be able to complete the whole survey in 5 to 10 minutes. Responses are all anonymous and you are free to provide or not provide your contact details.

The project is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and jointly implemented by the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in collaboration with the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

Collaborative approaches towards better livestock data quality in Africa

Although there are currently several types of livestock data and indicators in Africa, many are difficult to access, such as productivity indicators, livestock inventories and marketing-related data.

On the other hand, some livestock-related data may be readily accessible but with attendant quality issues thereby potentially undermining their reliability and usefulness in policymaking and development planning.

The Livestock Data Innovation project seeks to address these issues through collaborative approaches aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of livestock data and promoting pro-poor investments in the livestock sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

This is a 3-year project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and implemented by the World Bank, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the African Union - Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

The presentation below, Livestock data in sub-Saharan Africa: Availability and issues, by Derek Baker of ILRI, Ibrahim Ahmed of AU-IBAR and Ugo Pica-Ciamarra of FAO highlights some of the quality and accessibility issues associated with livestock data in Africa and some proposed approaches of the project and of the AU-IBAR-led Animal Resources Information System 2 (ARIS 2) towards addressing these issues.

Livestock data in Sub Saharan Africa: Availability and issues

View more presentations from ILRI

For more information, please visit the project web page.

Livestock data innovation project works to improve quality of livestock data in Africa

The Livestock Data Innovation in Africa project is a three-year (2010–2012) project that works with national governments and institutes to pilot and develop methodologies to identify, collect and analyze livestock data in three pilot countries: Niger, Tanzania and Uganda.

Among other objectives, the project seeks to establish and maintain communication networks between the suppliers and users of livestock data so that a core set of key livestock indicators and their associated data can be identified, regularly collected and shared in order to support targeted pro-poor investment and policy formulation.

The project is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and jointly implemented by the World Bank, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the African Union - Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).