The need to bring the donkey value chain on board arose out of the sudden descent upon it for the skin which is now commanding a high premium for the gelatin it contains, primarily. This has put pressure on donkey populations globally and led to theft and illegal trade in donkeys resulting in a threat to its extinction. This causes concerns for donkey welfare and the livelihoods of those who rely on donkeys. To halt the steady decline in the population of donkeys, most countries especially in Africa put restrictions on the trade of donkeys and/or donkey hides.
The outcome of the Stakeholders’ engagement on the promotion and development of Donkey Value Chain conducted by the Department of Animal Husbandry Services on 20th October 2020 in Abuja where papers were presented and pertinent issues discussed on how to conserve the endangered donkey through the promotion of its increased production to avert extinction and sustain the livelihood of the value chain actors propelled it to take the next line of action in carrying out activity on identification, profiling, and registration of donkey farmers, traders and skin processors in two selected states
The exercise was conducted purposely to identify and profile the various actors in the donkey Value Chain, identify their needs and also organize the various actors into clusters.
The activity was simultaneously carried out in Sokoto and Katsina states on 25th January 2022 s at the State Ministry of Animal Health And Fisheries, Sokoto State and Federal Ministry of Agric Secretariat complex, Katsina State.
A total of 50 Donkey farmers which include producers, traders and skin processors were identified and registered in each Sokoto and Katsina States. A Four-man team from FMARD that monitored the exercise in collaboration with H & F Tech Nig limited the consultant engaged to carry out the activity was able to identify the needs of the farmers for possible areas of intervention.
At the end of the activity, the donkey farmers in the Sokoto and Katsina states have been well sensitized and awareness enhanced of the need to increase the production of donkeys to avert extinction. The farmers express their gratitude to the Federal Government for this laudable program and the concern shown in improving the livelihood of the farmers.
