Улаанбаатар
National herders’ forum calls for policy reform in the livestock sector
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The National Best Herders’ Forum - the largest annual gathering of herders in Mongolia - called on policymakers to embark on sectoral reforms focused on sustainable and inclusive development.
The 2016 forum held in Ulaanbaatar on 17 March - co-hosted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and SDC’s Green Gold Project and drawing more than 650 participants - focused on the challenges being faced in the livestock and animal husbandry sector and possible solutions.
It was published Tuesday on the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) website.
Mongolia’s Prime Minister Ch. Saikhanbileg, who was present at the opening, said the purpose of the forum was to listen to herders and ensure their voices were reflected in government policies.
Speaker of Parliament Z. Enkhbold said livestock husbandry was the backbone of national food security and an income source for many people in years of economic downturn.
Given the increasing demand for sustainably produced, organic livestock products in neighbouring markets in China, Mr Enkhbold highlighted the potential of Mongolia’s natural rangeland-based livestock products to meet that demand.
Minister for Food and Agriculture R. Burmaa spoke about the need to reorient livestock sector policy towards sustainable and inclusive development. Recommendations arising from the forum were delivered to Z. Enkhbold, including the promotion of livestock quality over quantity through the Best
Herder programme, improvement of the rangeland management legal framework to secure traditional user rights for herder families, and adoption of the Law on Animal Health to improve market access to China.
The majority of forum participants believed overstocking was the main cause of rangeland degradation, with consensus among herders on the need to improve livestock quality and productivity and access to markets as viable solutions.
Gobi-Altai herder R. Batsukh said the forum allowed herders to meet face-to-face with policymakers and discuss the challenges of rangeland degradation and market access.
The day after the forum, participants visited livestock product processing companies (cashmere, wool, hides/skins, dairy processing, meat) to explore possible future cooperation and learn about quality standards for the supply of raw materials.
