auritania 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 solve the multidimensional problems and constraints of the agropastoral sector and create opportunities for more structural projects and programs related to livestock farming.

The signing also marks the launch of feasibility studies, following the project's approval in February 2023 by the Board of Directors of the Bank Group.

Minister Saleh elaborated on the agreement: “Several challenges continue to hinder the sustainable development of the (livestock) sector, including the lack of infrastructure, the inadequate capacity of regional services, conflicts around natural resources, and poor added value. It is these issues that the project for which we have just signed an agreement aims to tackle,” he explained.

Livestock farming plays a crucial role in Mauritania's food and nutritional security. Between 60 and 70 percent of the country’s population generates most of their income from rearing livestock. According to the National Statistical Agency (ANSADE 2021), the sector contributes around 9.8 percent of Mauritania’s GDP. The President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani, once said: “Livestock farming is Mauritania’s great national asset.”

The African Development Fund's funding will support project feasibility and environmental and social safeguard studies. It will also help develop the master investment plan for livestock farming in Mauritania. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will manage the project.

Malinne Blomberg said: “The African Development Bank is delighted to participate in the development of the livestock farming sector, thus strengthening our partnership with the Mauritanian government.”

The AWKAR project forms part of initiatives by the Bank Group to support livestock farming in Mauritania and responds to the Mauritanian government’s request for support to develop the sector. The grant funding also facilitated studies on the meat and dairy value chains. The studies were conducted through a participatory and inclusive process, and were approved at a national workshop involving stakeholders.

The project aligns with the African Development Bank’s “Feed Africa” strategy to foster a radical transformation in African agriculture in a competitive and inclusive agro-food sector, well-positioned to create wealth, improve living conditions and protect the environment.

In line with the strategy, the Bank has developed a Livestock Investment Master Plan (LIVEMAP) to address the main constraints in creating inclusive livestock farming value chains. In January 2023, in cooperation with the African Union and the Senegalese government, the Bank organized the Dakar 2 Summit on food sovereignty and resilience, during which Mauritania presented its national compact on developing livestock farming.

In 2018, Mauritania developed a national livestock farming program to make the sector one of the levers of the national economy by 2025, mainly by promoting and integrating livestock farming into the formal economy. The program focuses on developing four areas of livestock: cattle and red meat, milk and dairy products, leather and hides, and poultry farming.