The Ministry in charge of Animal Resources has announced measures to improve meat transport in Burkina Faso, including small vehicles and refrigerated motorcycle taxis. He also announced the construction of new slaughterhouses in Kaya and Pouytenga, for better meat processing and export to other countries.
The Ministry of Industrial Development, Trade, Handicrafts and Small and Medium Enterprises (MDICAPME) in collaboration with the ministerial departments in charge of Animal Resources and that of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, organized on Thursday 24 August 2023, the first national symposium on slaughterhouses and slaughtering areas with the theme "development of livestock processing and meat marketing in Burkina Faso: what reforms for viable and competitive slaughterhouses and slaughtering areas ".
“Slaughterhouses play an important socio-economic and health role in Burkina Faso. From a socio-economic point of view, slaughterhouses promote the development of the livestock sector by facilitating and accelerating the meat marketing process,” declared Minister Delegate in charge of Animal Resources Amadou Dicko.
For Mr. Dicko, "with the numerically large livestock that Burkina Faso has, the processing chain must be improved so as not to have to export animals on the hoof because when animals are exported in this way it is less profitable and we do not can't take advantage of derivatives".
According to him, efforts are being made to build new slaughterhouses which will be competitive, particularly in Kaya and Pouytenga.
He also mentioned the problems of operation of existing slaughterhouses, but also the problems of profitability linked to the obsolescence of equipment and the clandestine slaughterhouses that people create. This leads to the lack of profitability of slaughterhouses.
“We are going to raise the awareness of the whole population, the transporters so that we can improve the meat transport system within the big cities. In these big cities, we are also thinking of setting up small vehicles, in particular motorcycle taxis which will be refrigerated and well equipped for the transport of meat,” concluded Mr. Discko.
For the representative of the players in the sector, Cédric Kiendrébéogo, moreover, a butcher, "this is the first time that our sector has been highlighted like this and I hope that in the end there will be strong recommendations and decisions to take ".
“If we want to export meat, we have to look at this sector so that it meets international standards. If it meets international standards, we can export. Until then the speeches are hollow, Burkina Faso cannot export the meat” added Mr. Kiendrébéogo.
Source: Burkina Information Agency