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Editorial & Opinions |
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- The International Community is Betraying Somaliland
- Interaction Of
Peace, Security And Development Within The Framework Of Somaliland's
International Recognition - A Practical Experience |
Date: July 30 to Aug. 1st
Despite the overwhelming significance of livestock in the Somali ecosystem, current livestock production and productivity lags far behind its potentials in contributing to increased incomes, food security of the Somali population and overall improvement of the national economy. The reasons for this discrepancy between animal wealth and poor performance and productivity are manifold and range from technical to institutional.
Animal production related constraints such as poor nutrition, poor management, disease, low genetic potential are compounded by structural and institutional weaknesses. These include marketing limitations, lack of livestock supporting institution, shortage of trained and motivated professional and trained personnel, absence of relevant legal and regulatory bodies capable of enforcing rules and regulations, etc.
The protracted lack of a central government and fragmentation of national authorities without a coherent strategic policy and coordinated framework toward a sustainable livestock production system has further exacerbated the environmental and institutional sustainability of the pastoral production in the whole of the Somali ecosystem. The implication that are to be inferred from the combined effects of these serious constraints and pitfalls for the production and export are evident and need no further clarification. The most serious consequence was, however, the imposition of successive import bans on all livestock imports from Somalia by the traditional importing countries.
In the light of this difficult context, the ministry of Livestock of the Republic of Somaliland and the Somali Livestock professional forum have jointly organized this three-day workshop in Hargeisa and invited a wide array of livestock professionals associations from all over the different regions of former Somalia, as well as individual livestock specialists from the Somali ecosystem The main focus of this workshop was to design policies that will lead to more transparent approaches and practices regarding disease surveillance and disease reporting. The need for a concerted and coordinated action effort by all relevant institutions and organizations on a country-wide basis has been recognized as a viable strategy in confronting with the difficulties and constraints facing the Somali livestock economy
The following report is an executive summary of the highlights of the workshop deliberations
Day 1 (Friday, 30.07.04):
8:00-9:00 Arrival of delegates and brief introduction of the participants who came from Somaliland, Puntland, Central Regions, Benadir and South-West region. Present were also the tutors of the STVS as well as other independent private veterinarians and individuals associated with international NGOs working in the Somali livestock sector.
Dr Mohamoud Abdillahi 'Foodcadde', a veteran veterinarian, who is known to almost all the participants was elected as the chairman f the workshop.
The chairman has briefly addressed the current constraints facing the livestock sector in the Somali ecosystem and emphasized the dire need for a common platform encompassing all Somali livestock professionals, irrespective of regional affiliation, in order to devise ways of overcoming the constraints intrinsic to the livestock sector. The chairman stressed the need for prioritization in view of the multiplicity of the constraints facing the Somali livestock sector. It has been agreed that there is a strong case for the establishment of coordinated disease surveillance and disease reporting system in Somalia if the national plea for lifting the ban is to have some perceptible success. The participants acknowledged that for an export-oriented country, like Somalia, a functioning livestock surveillance and disease reporting system should be in place. This will create an enabling environment for a transparent disease information that might foster the restoration of trust and confidence of the importing countries.
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