Strategic Area:                         Recovery and Sustainable Livelihoods

Alignment  with strategic plan:   Poverty reduction and achievement of MDGs
  
Project Name:                          Support to the Somali meat export sector project

Duration:                                 2007 - 2008

Project Summary:
Livestock dominates Somali agriculture. It is the main source of individual and national wealth, and generates considerable employment and export income. In 1990, the livestock sector provided employment and livelihoods for about 55% of the population and accounts for 80% of the export earnings in a normal year.  An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in East Africa and Arabia led to a ban on the importation of live animals and meat from Somalia by traditional trading partners in the Middle East in 2000.  Although some countries have recommenced imports, the ban on sales to Saudi Arabia continues to depress the market.
 
Somali meat exports have developed as an alternative to live animals, but support is needed to improve quality to maximize access to markets. In response, UNDP in partnership with the FAO and AOAD developed the Support to the Somali Meat Export Project.

Expected outputs of the project are:
1. A Quality Assurance (QA) system, consistent with importing country requirements and international standards, designed and implemented, including the minimum legal, regulatory institutional requirements necessary to make it operational and institutionalized;
2. The skills of the export meat sector operators upgraded through capacity building of both public and private stakeholders on the application of the QA system;
3. The existence of the meat QA system for ensuring safety and quality of Somali meat regionally promoted. 

Implementation and achievements:
Main activities in 2007 were related to project formulation, awareness-raising and consensus-building. This involved priority-setting and project design/formulation workshops, as well as meetings with SMTA, regional authorities and LAS. The project has now been approved by all stakeholders. While project formulation was a lengthy process, it was necessary to create local ownership as well as to agree on priorities, sequencing and coordination between this and other initiatives. With the framework in place, activities will be implemented over the next 12 months.
 
The Project manager took up his responsibilities in Garowe in October 2007. The process of mobilization of stakeholders has been initiated by first visiting the Minister for Livestock, Agriculture and Environment (MOLAE) in Garowe, Puntland.  Project offices are being established in Garowe and Hargeisa and national project assistant managers for both offices recruited. Local stakeholders in Puntland including PULPA, Puntland Veterinary Board, PLB, together with UN- Habitat, ILO, and NGOs such as CARE, as well as Ministry of Health and local authorities have been mobilized. This process is in preparation for the planned stakeholder meeting to present the preferred QA framework and cost benefit analysis by end of March 2008.

A value-chain analysis of the sector was commissioned by UNDP and the first draft submitted in November 2007. The analysis will help inform project activities and provide background for future programming in the area. The final analysis will be available during March 2008, and will be followed by a series of consultation workshops in Somalia.