“Mandated to enhance the contribution of livestock sectors to poverty reduction and control major animal zoonotic trans-boundary diseases in Africa”

Dr. Modibo Traore was born in Mali's capital Bamako on July 18, 1954. After graduating from the Askia Mohamed High School in Bamako with a Baccalaureate in Biological Sciences (1973), he pursued his education in the fields of Veterinary Sciences & Medicine and Livestock and Animal Production. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine from the Agricultural Academy of the Ukraine, Dr. Traoré continued his studies and research until 1989, when he was awarded the Ph.D. in Sciences from the University of Paris in Créteil. Having attended a series of highly specialized seminars - including a FAO/ELAT course on Trypanotolerant cattle, Standardization of Data on Animal Production (ILCA) and Agricultural Research Management (AGIR/ISNAR) - the professional path of Dr. Traoré started to go beyond science and research to include political responsibilities.

Appointed as National Director of Livestock between 1992 and 1994, he was responsible for the formulation and implementation of the national policy for sanitary control measures in Mali including the coordination of national programmes for the development of animal resources. Full swing political responsibility was taken up by Dr. Dr. Traoré as of 1994, when he assumed the posts of Minister for Rural Development and Environment (until 1997) and Minister for Rural Development and Water. Residing in Beijing from 2000 to 2004, he tended to Mali's national interests abroad, in the function of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to The People's Republic of China, The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, The Democratic People's Republic of Laos, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and The Kingdom of Cambodia. Today, Dr. Traoré heads the Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union (AU/IBAR) in Nairobi, Kenya, with a clear mandate to contribute to poverty reduction through improving animal health and production in Africa and promoting trade and free livestock markets.