Farm animals are essential to many poor rural households in Burundi. They provide food and cash income, as well as manure to preserve soil fertility and improve yields of staple crops. The livestock sector in the country declined dramatically during the 12 years of civil war, and its recovery is slow, despite strong demand for animal products. Much of the population is too poor to buy livestock. Farmers who do own animals lack access to forage, animal health services and livestock support services. As a result, productivity is low.

The grant approved under the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) helps finance a project to raise livestock productivity and improve the food security and incomes of poor farmers. The project will also help add value to animal products such as meat, dairy products and honey by developing markets and processing technologies and facilities. It will target vulnerable groups, including women, returnees and landless people and other people with few assets.

Specifically the project will help:

• raise the productivity of small-scale livestock farmers by improving fodder quality and smallstock breeds, as well as providing training and participative learning in improved production and marketing practices
• improve community-based animal health and disease control by ensuring that vulnerable households have access to para-veterinary services and by reporting contagious animal diseases to higher-level animal health services
• improve private sector delivery of inputs and processing facilities
• empower community committees to manage local development and contribute to policy decisions on animal health and management

 
Source: IFAD