Africa Leather and Leather Products Institute (ALLPI) participated in a Stakeholders consultative meeting which was organized by COMESA Secretariat to enhance private sector especially Small and Medium Scale animal and animal product producers’ and value chain actors’ participation in sustainable regional and global value chains which was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 3rd to 5th May 2023.
The meeting was officially opened by Dr Bishar Fille Elmi, Director for Livestock production on behalf Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative, Kenya. In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary recognized the Directors of Veterinary Services and Animal Production who were present, Director of AU-IBAR, representatives of WOAH, RECs, Member States and COMESA Staff.
Overall Objective
The overall objective of the meeting was to “improve participation of enterprises involved in dairy, poultry, meat, live animal product and leather and leather product value chains in the regional and international markets”.
Specific Objectives
- Strengthen the capacity of producers, producer organizations and other value chain actors to enhance competitiveness, value addition and market access,
- Identify major challenges and agree on the way forward to support small and medium scale dairy, poultry, meat, live animal and leather and leather product producers and value chain actors to improve their competitiveness and market access,
- Agree on the importance of establishing intra-regional dairy, poultry, meat and leather product supply chains and link small and medium scale producers especially women, youth and the vulnerable groups of the society to regional and international markets,
- Share experiences and identify mechanisms to improve business environment for SME’s and Medium Scale producers and value chain actors
Representatives from ten COMESA Member States included the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was convened to map out ways of enhancing trade and promoting sustainable regional and global value chains by small and medium scale actors in animal and animal products. The participants were drawn from the government and private sectors as well as Regional, Continental and Global Organizations. They discussed strategies to strengthen the capacity of producers, producer organizations and other value chain actors to enhance competitiveness, value addition and market access. The delegates also identified challenges and agreed on the way forward to support small and medium scale dairy, poultry, meat, live animal and leather and leather products producers and value chain actors to improve their competitiveness. On the agenda were topical issues including the current situation in the animal and animal products value chain, trade in COMESA, challenges in maintaining international standards and policy directions in improving standards/sanitary of animal and animal products among others. The delegates visited the Kenya Meat Expo at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi for experience sharing and were able identify major challenges and the areas of capacity building of the producers, producer organizations and other value chain actors to enhance competitiveness, value addition and market access.
Mr. Harrison Mungai Leather Value Chain and Tannery Expert on behalf of ALLPI gave a brief background of ALLPI noting the institution’s mandate and strategic objectives. He highlighted the importance of the leather value chain and situations at continental and global level. He explained about global importance of the leather value chain. He said, hides and skins production is a function of the livestock size, slaughter rates, meat consumption and economic growth among other factors. The pattern of this relationship is stepwise; for instance, the number of animals slaughtered is a function of meat consumption, which is in turn influenced by economic performance. The global leather goods market size was valued at USD 242.85 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% from 2023 to 2030. He then noted the production comparatives in RECs, factors constraining the sector, implementation of the RECAMP project and landmark global achievement by ALLPI.
