About Us
African livestock production systems remain less productive; and if not
transformed and made resilient,
such systems are projected to remain unsustainable
and unable to meet the demand for food and contribute to a better management of our environment and our
natural resources.
The business case for livestock development in Africa is based on the projections that 25% of human
population of 9.5b in 2050 will be in Africa.
Current and previous analyses of African livestock production systems have clearly demonstrated the need
for genetic improvement to underpin long term breeding programs.
To translate this vision into reality, the Africa Animal Breeding Network (AABNet) was recently
established. The need to establish AABNet has been driven by past experiences and
opportunities offered through initiatives focusing on the development and applications of tools,
resources and other innovations in genetics, genomics, animal breeding
and data science to support livestock genetic improvement in Africa. The AABNet (formed in 2019 with the
official launch planned for 2021) will
benefit from leading experts in industry, academia, government, international research
organisations.Discussions leading to the establishment of AABNet leveraged opportunities offered through
its founding members to mobilize world leading animal
breeders and related scientific disciplines in Academia and Industry to support livestock genetic
improvement in Africa.