“Africa’s livestock sector already contributes over USD 210 billion annually, yet we continue to import products we could produce ourselves. The question is whether we will seize the billion-dollar opportunity before us.” This message from Dr Huyam Salih, Director of AU-IBAR, framed the urgency of transforming Africa’s livestock systems during the panel discussion on “Resilience in the Animal Industry” at the ICC Kenya Business Summit 2026 in Nairobi.
Her remarks highlighted a central contradiction in Africa’s development trajectory: while the continent has one of the world’s largest livestock populations, its systems remain fragmented, underinvested in, and insufficiently integrated into competitive regional and global markets.
Building Systems to Enable Transformation
The livestock panel was part of a comprehensive summit programme that addressed the structural foundations required for Africa’s economic transformation. Sessions explored sustainable agriculture, precision farming, digital trade, sustainable finance, and green infrastructure, emphasising the need to move beyond production toward integrated, market-driven systems. Speakers highlighted the importance of strengthening agricultural value chains, improving access to finance, digitising trade systems, and mobilising private investment. These discussions reinforced that Africa’s competitiveness will depend on its ability to connect production systems with efficient markets, modern infrastructure, and coordinated investment frameworks.
Digital transformation was identified as a critical enabler, helping to reduce trade complexity, improve transparency, and expand market participation, while discussions on sustainable finance emphasised partnerships among governments, financial institutions, and investors to unlock large-scale agricultural and infrastructure investment.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
