Training on market access through quality assurance and contracting models

Pastoralist value chains across Africa face persistent constraints, including weak quality assurance systems, informal markets, and strong broker dominance. As a result, pastoralists capture only a small share of the final value of livestock and meat, with limited access to reliable markets, inputs, and services.

Strengthening private-sector orchestration through structured quality assurance and inclusive contracting models can address these gaps. Well-designed contracts reduce dependence on brokers, improve price transparency and stability, and integrate pastoralists more directly into formal value chains by linking them to inputs, veterinary services, extension support, and guaranteed offtake.

In Ethiopia, the LUNA pastoral contracting model shows how structured offtake agreements can improve market access, compliance with standards, and income stability while reducing transaction risks for buyers.

Building on this experience, the training will strengthen private-sector capacity to implement inclusive contracting and quality systems, targeting youth and women offtakers, aggregators, and meat processors. The programme contributes to Outcome 2 and supports Output 2.1 under the Pan-African Private Sector Partnership Framework.

Objectives

To strengthen private-sector capacity to expand pastoralists’ access to quality inputs, services, training, and offtake markets through quality assurance systems and inclusive contracting models.

Specificaly to:

• Improve integration of pastoralists into structured livestock and meat value chains, strengthening pastoral resilience, enhancing food security, and improving livelihoods.
• Enhance the understanding of quality assurance systems applicable to pastoral and livestock value chains.
• Build practical skills on designing and implementing inclusive and enforceable contracting models.
• Strengthen private-sector coordination and partnerships aligned with the Pan-African Private Sector Partnership Framework.
• Facilitate experience sharing on export promotion, quality assurance, and inclusive contracting models from Botswana.

The training will bring together stakeholders, including youth and women offtakers and meat processors from Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.