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Mauritania

African Development Bank to provide $767,000 to boost

livestock farming in Mauritania

Mauritania will receive $767,000
from the African Development Fund,
the African Development Bank Group’s
concessional financing window, to
develop livestock farming, ranked the
second-largest source of livelihood in
the country.
Mauritanian Minister of Economy and
Sustainable Development, Abdessalam
Ould Mohamed Saleh, and the Bank
Group’s Deputy Director General for
North Africa, Malinne Blomberg, signed
a funding agreement in Nouakchott
on 19 July 2023. Mauritania’s Minister
for Livestock Farming, Hmedeît Ould
Cheine, witnessed the signing.
The agreement paves the way
for the Mauritanian government to
implement its Inclusive Livestock
Sector Development Project (AWKAR)
to develop the agropastoral resources
available in the northeastern part (Dahr)
of the Hodh Chargui region. It will help Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh The project aligns with the
solve the multidimensional problems El-Ghazouani, once said: “Livestock African Development Bank’s “Feed
and constraints of the agropastoral farming is Mauritania’s great national Africa” strategy to foster a radical
sector and create opportunities for asset.” transformation in African agriculture in
more structural projects and programs The African Development Fund’s a competitive and inclusive agro-food
related to livestock farming. funding will support project feasibility sector, well-positioned to create wealth,
The signing also marks the launch and environmental and social improve living conditions and protect
of feasibility studies, following the safeguard studies. It will also help the environment.
project’s approval in February 2023 develop the master investment plan
by the Board of Directors of the Bank for livestock farming in Mauritania. The In line with the strategy, the Bank
Group. United Nations Food and Agriculture has developed a Livestock Investment
Master Plan (LIVEMAP) to address the
Minister Saleh elaborated on the Organization (FAO) will manage the main constraints in creating inclusive
agreement: “Several challenges project. livestock farming value chains. In
continue to hinder the sustainable Malinne Blomberg said: “The African January 2023, in cooperation with the
development of the (livestock) sector, Development Bank is delighted to African Union and the Senegalese
including the lack of infrastructure, participate in the development of
the inadequate capacity of regional the livestock farming sector, thus government, the Bank organized the
services, conflicts around natural strengthening our partnership with the Dakar 2 Summit on food sovereignty
resources, and poor added value. It is Mauritanian government.” and resilience, during which Mauritania
these issues that the project for which The AWKAR project forms part presented its national compact on
we have just signed an agreement aims of initiatives by the Bank Group to developing livestock farming.
to tackle,” he explained. support livestock farming in Mauritania In 2018, Mauritania developed a
Livestock farming plays a crucial and responds to the Mauritanian national livestock farming program to
role in Mauritania’s food and nutritional government’s request for support to make the sector one of the levers of
security. Between 60 and 70 percent develop the sector. The grant funding the national economy by 2025, mainly
of the country’s population generates also facilitated studies on the meat and by promoting and integrating livestock
most of their income from rearing dairy value chains. The studies were farming into the formal economy. The
livestock. According to the National conducted through a participatory and program focuses on developing four
Statistical Agency (ANSADE 2021), the inclusive process, and were approved areas of livestock: cattle and red meat,
sector contributes around 9.8 percent at a national workshop involving milk and dairy products, leather and
of Mauritania’s GDP. The President of stakeholders. hides, and poultry farming.
30 Arab Agriculture 2024