The Role of Modern Technologies for Improving the Production Environment of Livestock in Africa

Technology was instrumental in advancing human civilization, and present-day modern technologies are enabling breakthrough innovations in medicine, agriculture, and other science sectors in Western countries. Current levels of livestock productivity in Africa are suboptimal and marred by a myriad of problems requiring urgent intervention. Modern technologies, known to be instrumental in advancing the livestock sector in western countries, will play a big role in supporting rapid growth in the African livestock sector. This chapter presents modern technologies that have advanced many aspects of livestock management in recent decades. First, Section 21.2 presents the technologies used for assessment and improvement of production efficiencies followed by examination of the technologies in animal welfare management (Section 21.3), while some of the technologies enhancing meat production, processing, and preservation are presented in Section 21.4. This is followed by an overview of the technologies for livestock nutrition and feeding (Section 21.5), livestock health management (Section 21.6), housing and milking management (Section 21.7), and technologies in pastoral livestock production systems (Section 21.8). To fully benefit from these technologies, current challenges (Section 21.9) must be addressed to pave the way for accelerated improvements in the African livestock sector following their adoption and implementation.