Home / Report Extensive Livestock Expo, Kenya 2015

Report Extensive Livestock Expo, Kenya 2015

Extensive Livestock Expo
April 14, 2016 By: F&BKP Office Image: Extensive Livestock Expo
Share:

Kenya’s first Extensive Livestock Expo was held in Nairobi in November 2015. Themed ‘Herding for Markets’, the Expo brought together local, regional and international livestock producers and policy makers, financiers, buyers and other livestock value chain actors. It attracted 1200 delegates, 75 exhibitors and 10,000 livestock producers from various parts of the country. The Expo consisted of an Exhibition to show case livestock based products and services, and a Conference designed to explore opportunities in the livestock industry. 

The Food & Business Knowledge Platform supported the organization of the Conference to enhance knowledge exchange between European and African experts, make available knowledge to policy makers and practitioners and to promote regional collaboration on this theme which hopefully will continue in the future.

Livestock contributes about 6-20% of the GDP of individual countries and 30% farm gate value of agricultural commodities in the Horn and Eastern Africa region, employing about 50% of agricultural labour. Driven by population increase, urbanization and economic growth, livestock production is one of the fastest-growing agricultural sub-sectors in developing countries. Demand for livestock/animal food products is predicted to likely scale up to 20 times more by the year 2050.

Recent trends indicate increasing investment along extensive livestock value chains by both the government and the private sector. This trend needs to be fast tracked in order to tap the huge potential. There is now more than ever, a need to showcase the commercial viability of extensive livestock in complementarity to the inherent social-cultural importance still attached to the livestock by most of the keeping communities.

That is why the first Extensive Livestock Expo was organized in Kenya in November 2015. Overall objective of the Expo was to unlock the sector’s potential by providing an expert platform for learning and position livestock as a priority economic growth sector at a local, regional and national level. Co-organizers of the Expo were AgriProFocus Kenya, KCB foundation, Kenya Livestock Marketing Council, Kenya Markets Trust, Land O’ Lakes and SNV (Netherlands Development Organization).

Conference

The Conference brought together different actors in the pastoral value chains in the Horn and East Africa countries along the livestock corridors. Aim was to bring the livestock agenda as a priority sector for governments, but more importantly explore opportunities of collaboration, promote the commercial value of extensive livestock value chains and opening up investment opportunities. The Conference entailed discussions and presentations of technical papers on various thematic areas including production, livestock marketing policies, risk management and much more. The list of speakers on the Conference included 21 Kenyan or East African experts and 5 European speakers. The six conference sessions were chaired by the co-organizers and the opening ceremony was attended by officials from the University of Nairobi/Faculty of Vet Medicine (the host), Ministry of Livestock and the AgriProFocus board (president Kees Wantenaar).

Future

Considering the success of and the interest in this first expo, AgriProFocus Kenya and Kenya Commercial Bank are discussing to organize another extensive livestock event. A date has not yet been fixed, but the ambition is to let the second expo take place in northern Kenya in the heartland of extensive livestock production.

Detailed information

Please find a detailed proceedings document on the 2015 Conference at the AgriProFocus platform; and below a list of all presentations given during the Conference.

Share:

Leave your contribution here

(will not be published)

Latest F&BKP posts
F&BKP Office
March 23, 2021
F&BKP Office
March 23, 2021
F&BKP Office
March 23, 2021
F&BKP Office
December 18, 2020
FBR end conference
F&BKP Office
December 18, 2020