Three bills on livestock marketing in pipeline: Authority

Addis Ababa, December 8(ENA)-- The Livestock Marketing Authority announced that three bills deemed to augment the utilization of the country's livestock resources were in the pipeline.

The announcement came here on Saturday at the conclusion of a two-day workshop organized to popularize the livestock marketing and information system.

The Government had already launched multifarious activities aimed at bringing about improvements in the utilization of the livestock resources, according to Authority General Manager with the rank of Vice Minister, Getachew Teklemedhin.

He said the three bills drafted by the Authority were undergoing appraisals by pertinent bodies, adding the authority was charged with the duty of augmenting the livestock resources' marketing, thereby to change the lives of the pastoralists for the better.

The bills have provided for abattoirs management, dairy products quality and standards inspection and legal framework for livestock marketing system, he indicated.

Meanwhile, the authority was preparing a draft strategy providing for the delineation of a long-term demand and supply, he said, adding an indepth study conducted at 200 markets across the country would be used as reference in the designing of the strategy.

The authority has currently been undertaking three relevant projects financed by the U.S. Aid for International Development (USAID), he indicated.

Ethiopia is obtaining not more than 400 million Birr in foreign currency from the sector while the country can possibly earn 2.1 billion Birr in foreign currency annually.

Contraband in live animals constitutes a loss amounting to 917 Birr annually.

(END)