Getting Technology to Livestock Keepers in Africa: New Approaches to Service Delivery

Livestock support households in many different ways in Africa. They are an asset to sell in times of difficulty, a source of cash as well as producers of food for home consumption and sale. In order to unlock the income generating potential of such valuable assets farmers need access to markets, new technology and services. In the past these services were in many cases delivered through subsidized government services but these have declined over the past 10-15 years. Currently services are delivered through a variety of private sector, NGO and state agents. The weak regulatory environment, together with unethical service providers exploiting poorly informed farmers, means these services are often of poor quality. Very few private sector companies invest in R&D for these emerging markets and the lack of a well structured distribution network limits the impact of public sector research. New approaches to reaching farmers with good technology are required. A new social enterprise, Sidai Africa Ltd, has been set up to offer high quality affordable livestock services through branded franchise outlets in Kenya. This social business offers a new approach to the financially viable delivery of services to livestock keepers at the ‘base of the pyramid’, those most in need of them.