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The Chief Animal Health Officer at the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) has said that the livestock sector in Africa accounts for about 40% of agricultural gross domestic product (GDP), ranging from 15-80% depending on the country, and this percentage is growing. DrBaboucarr Jaw made the statement recently during a two-day consultative engagement with National Assembly members and stakeholders within and outside the Department of Livestock Services (DOLS). It was organized by AU-IBAR in partnership with DOLS. The meeting dealt with veterinary legislation and other relevant strategic documents. According to Dr. Jaw, the animal health strategy for Africa aims to provide a framework for managing challenges related to animal health. For his part, Mr. IBRAHI ChernoJagne head of monitoring and evaluation strategic planning at Pan African Parliament PAP Said the Pan-African Parliament was established under Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, as one of the organs provided for in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community and inaugurated on March 18, 2004. ‘’The establishment of the Pan-African Parliament is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent he explains’. Mr. Jagne said; the Pan African Parliament is going through a transformation process to have full Legislative Powers with a key role in law-making and to become an institution that effectively discharges and realizes the objectives, mandate, and vision expressed in the PAP Protocol, the AU Constitutive Act, and the Abuja Treaty will go a long way in actualizing the aspirations of Agenda 2063. He also said the Pan-African Parliament attaches great importance to the critical role that the African Union- Inter-Africa Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is playing in the Agricultural Sector and sensitizing the Members of the Pan-African Parliament specifically on livestock-related matters in Africa. Finally, the Pan African Parliament recognizes the role AU-IBAR on Veterinary Legislation. We see governance on veterinary legislation and enforcement as one of the primary points of leverage for our Partnership with AU-IBAR through PAP Committee on Agriculture. The PAP Committee on Agriculture has been supporting the development of common regional and continental policies and frameworks in the agricultural sector and advocating for their application in each member state he ended. |
