A cow a family impresses Comesa
VET-GOV programme Coordinator in Comesa Dr Yoseph Shiferaw Mamo says the one cow a family programme being undertaken by President Joyce Banda will change the lives of many families because they will be fully empowered to generate more revenue.
VET-GOV is a programme of the African Union Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) supported by the European Union. It aims at leveraging the resource potential of the livestock sector for poverty alleviation in Africa in collaboration with regional economic communities such as Comesa.
Speaking during the opening of the Inauguration Policy Hub workshop at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe on Tuesday ,Mamo said the one cow a family programme has the potential to change the lives of many poor people who could not on their own manage to purchase a cow.
“This is a very ambitious project. In Ethiopia where I come from it is doing wonders and it can do the same here. Apart from increasing the number of animals in the country’s availability of milk will also be increased in all the villages in the country,” said Mamo.
He said the milk if properly treated and consumed will help to improve the lives of children and bring more revenue in homes which could otherwise not be able to generate more money.
On the inauguration of the policy hub conference, Mamo said identification of livestock policy gaps is one of the key achievements of the Reinforcing Veterinary Governance in Africa Programme (VET-GOV) since it was launched in 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya and all countries must benefit.
He said since then, the livestock sector has been incorporated in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIP) in Comesa.
“We have made sure that livestock is well considered during the development of CAADP Compact and National Agricultural Investment Plans in the support given to member countries including Malawi”, said Mamo.
The policy hub workshop was organised to discuss on the identified livestock policy and strategy gaps and to come up with outputs that will help shape the Livestock Policy Act and Strategic Plan for Malawi.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ulemu Chilapondwa said: “Livestock is one of the drivers of wealth creation and a means for improving food security and thus an important contributor to achieving the Millenium Development Goals.”
