Investing in smallholder farmers who own livestock in rural Africa, such as these women in Tanzania, is a catalyst for economic growth (photo credit: ILRI/Deo Gratias Shayo).

Last October (2013), the World Bank reported on the findings of a case study on ‘Livestock and Livelihoods in Rural Tanzania.’ The study assessed opportunities and barriers to contributions livestock make to livelihoods of the poor in three African countries.

This analysis was part of a two-year ‘Livestock Data Innovation in Africa’ project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project was implemented in Niger, Tanzania and Uganda by the World Bank, the African Union–Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources and the International Livestock Research Intistute (ILRI) from 2010 to 2012.

The study reveals ‘investment gaps, potential benefits, and overall social impact’ of the livestock sector in rural Africa, the article says. These facts include how the ‘livestock sector [contributes] to the economic…