Abstract
The beef cattle production sector plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of pastoral farmers in Ethiopia, and it is the main source of beef animals for domestic and foreign markets. As compared to other African countries, Ethiopia has a huge beef cattle population (65.35 million heads). However, the quality and quantity of beef, as well as per capita meat consumption of Ethiopians, are very low (8.4 kg/individual/year). In this sense, the goal of this review was to provide and synthesize the most validated scientific information on the opportunities and challenges for pastoral beef cattle production in Ethiopia. The potential for pastoral beef cattle producers in Ethiopia included population growth, urbanization, literacy, and family income, as well as high demand for beef animals in domestic and foreign markets. In contrast, problems with beef cattle production systems, diseases, shortages of feed and water, lack of veterinary services, droughts, lack of market access and infrastructure, illegal animal trades, and poor genetic potential of indigenous cattle are among the limiting factors that hamper efficient beef production in the country. In Ethiopia, the yield and compositional quality of beef are very low compared to other African countries and the global market in general. Therefore, empowering pastoral beef cattle producers will help us to supply high quality and quantity of beef and will ensure sustainable beef cattle production with an identified market destination and access.
Highlights
Livestock production has a considerable contribution to the economy of Ethiopia and plays a vital role in providing export commodities like meat and meat products, live animals, hides and skins, and leather products to earn foreign currency [1]
The country is gifted with a very high potential for livestock resources, the sector’s contribution to the national economy is much lower than its production potential [2]. e beef cattle production sector is critical to the livelihoods of pastoral farmers in Ethiopia, providing income, food, draught power, and a common asset for households [3, 4]. e total number of cattle in the country is estimated to be 65.35 million heads, which is the highest in Africa [1]
Despite the fact that there are a huge number of cattle in Ethiopia, the contribution of the sector to earning foreign currency and total gross domestic product (GDP) is still very low [7]
Summary
Livestock production has a considerable contribution to the economy of Ethiopia and plays a vital role in providing export commodities like meat and meat products, live animals, hides and skins, and leather products to earn foreign currency [1]. Despite the fact that Ethiopia has a large beef cattle population compared to other African countries, the average per capita meat consumption of Ethiopians is very low (8.4 kg/individual/year), and the beef produced in the country is not of high quality [10]. In Ethiopia, the limiting reasons and potential for a sustainable beef export marketing system, as well as the degree of competitiveness with domestic and worldwide demand, have not been well investigated and gathered [17] In this regard, multiple researches have been undertaken in various parts of the country in order to identify the potentials and limitations of farmers’ beef cattle fattening operations. Experiments and scientific findings were utilized to filter data and focus on recent publications. e period of search for this script is from January 10, 2021, to March 30, 2021. e script’s literature search focused primarily on the challenges and opportunities for pastoral beef cattle production in Ethiopia. e information provided by Google Scholar, as well as peer-reviewed major indexers such as Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus, was used to extract useful information during this review script. us, keywords such as “opportunities and challenges for pastoral beef cattle production” were used to find journal articles, papers, books, and symposia. e section of this script will go through some concepts and experimental settings from the perspectives of pastoral beef cattle production opportunities and pastoral beef cattle production challenges in Ethiopia
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